Yumi uses two analogies to analyze Korea and Japan, and both shed important insights into Pachinko. When Yumi compares being Korean to an uncontrollable condition like poverty, it reinforces the novel's pervasive theme of fate. Characters in Pachinko reflect on their blood, "bad seeds", etc., that predestine their life paths and outcomes. When Yumi adds her culture and history to this category, it makes this part of her identity distant, stagnant, and no longer a prideful heritage that can grow and change.
Yumi also considers Japan to be like a beloved stepmother who refused to love her. The familial imagery is interesting here because it questions whether and how nations should care for their vulnerable citizens. Is a stepmother simply obligated to love her stepchildren? Does trust need to be established first, care and protection 'earned'? The quote also calls into question why Yumi loves a nation that degrades her dignity so often.
These relationships say that being Korean is a taint, and an inescapable one. Belonging in Korea is internal and given, but belonging in Japan is an external prize to be won. We could connect this idea to Sunja's relationship with Hansu: Hansu was guaranteed to have his wife, his Korea, whereas Sunja was the aspirational Japan: 'new' and failing to love him back after a while. Greed, loneliness, rejection, helplessness, detachment, and love are some of the emotions both in their relationship and ones that are related to colonialism.
Hi Heather! I really appreciate the thought and time you put into crafting this response. It is very thorough and analytical. I like how you connected the theme of guaranteed belonging to the relationship between Hansu and Sunja. I do think Sunja can be seen as the "stepmother" in this analogy. His life in Japan is most certainly guaranteed but yet seems shameful to him while Sunja represents someone he can never truly belong to.
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