Park, Linda Sue. 2002. WHEN MY NAME WAS KEOKO. Wilmington, MA: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0618133356.

Told in the alternating voices of ten-year-old Sun-hee and her older brother Tae-yul, this novel is the story of one proud Korean family during WWII and the occupation of Korea by the Japanese. All Sun-hee’s life the Japanese have been in charge – taking ownership of the rice fields, running businesses and schools, and issuing imperial decrees to suppress Korean language, culture, and customs. The Korean flag is banned, teaching the Korean Hangul alphabet is illegal, Rose of Sharon trees (a Korean national symbol) are destroyed, and all Koreans must take new Japanese names. Outwardly at least the family complies and Sun-yee chooses the new name of Keoko while her brother becomes Nobuo.

As the war goes on, conditions for the family worsen as their possessions are taken away one by one to support the Japanese war effort, food and clothing become scarce, and many of their fellow townspeople are conscripted to work in Japanese factories or serve in the Japanese army. Keoko’s world is shaken when her uncle is forced to flee after his work printing a resistance newspaper is discovered. The remaining family is stunned when Nobuo, who has always been fascinated with airplanes, volunteers to become a kamikaze pilot in order provide for the family. Can the family survive another loss? When Japan surrenders after the American atomic bombs are dropped, Korea is free but the war’s end may have come too late to save Tae-yul.

This novel accurately presents historic details of the Korean people’s experience as they struggle with wartime hardships under Japanese rule. Details of Korean culture are revealed naturally as the story unfolds, quietly pulling the reader into Keoko and Tae-yul’s lives. The book’s characters are completely believable, as they react to events in the story with outspoken hostility, quiet resignation, sadness, or confused uncertainty. Readers will identify with Keoko and Taeyul as they try to understand where they fit in a vanishing culture and what actions are truly right or wrong. In one instance, Keoko questions her own motives when she is taunted as chin-il-pa or “lover of Japanese” after winning a prize for her Japanese kanji writing skills at school. “I was good at Japanese. They thought that made me chin-il-pa. I wasn’t a traitor, was I? Could you be a traitor without knowing it?”

The book’s themes celebrate the strength of family and the importance of being true to oneself despite adversity and oppression. “Like the Rose of Sharon tree, symbol of Korea, which the family pots and hides in their shed until their country is free, Sun-hee and Tae-yul endure and grow.” (SLJ, 2002)

The back matter of the book features an author’s note detailing Ms. Park’s research for the book, including stories from her own parents, together with a brief history of Korea up to the present. Also included is a bibliography with selected titles of interest to readers twelve and up. Ms. Park notes that this was a difficult story for her to tell, and for her parents to revisit, but as she explained in an interview, "Your past is a huge part of what makes you you, and exploring the past can help you better understand the present and future." (Thompson Gale, 2006).

Reviews and Awards

Publishers Weekly starred review: “Through the use of the shifting narrators, Park subtly points up the differences between male and female roles in Korean society and telling details provide a clear picture of the siblings and their world.”

School Library Journal starred review: “This beautifully crafted and moving novel…expands readers' understanding of this period.”

Kirkus Reviews starred review: “This powerful and riveting tale of one close-knit, proud Korean family movingly addresses life-and-death issues of courage and collaboration, injustice, and death-defying determination in the face of totalitarian oppression.”

2002 Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year

2002 School Library Journal, Best Books of the Year

2002 New York Public Library, 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing

2003 ALA Notable Book for Children

2003 Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies

2004 Skipping Stones (an international multicultural magazine) Honor Award

2003 Jane Addams Peace Association Book Award Honor Book

2003 ALA Best Book for Young Adults

2003 Bank Street Best Children's Books of the Year

2003 NYPL Books for the Teen Age List

2003 Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices

Numerous state book nominee lists and awards

Connections

Books and websites can extend the story and help children learn more about Korean history and culture:

Books

A Kid’s Guide to Asian-American History by Valerie Petrillo (Chicago Review Press, 2007)

Land of Morning Calm: Korean Culture Then and Now by John Stickler and Soma Han (Shens Books, 20030

The Legend of Hong Kil Dong: Robin Hood of Korea (graphic novel) by Anne Sibley O’Brien (Charlesbridge, 2006)

My Name is Yoon (picture book) by Helen Recorvits (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003)

Websites

Video interview with Linda Sue Park:

AdLit.org, 2008. http://www.adlit.org/authors/Park/4641

Author’s website: http://www.lspark.com or www.lindasuepark.com

Author biography:

Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2006. “Park, Linda Sue.” Thompson Gale. http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Ow-Sh/Park-Linda-Sue.html#ixzz0WbYrWF5E (accessed November 1, 2009)