WHEN MY NAME WAS KEOKO by Linda Sue Park

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Park, Linda Sue. 2002. WHEN MY NAME WAS KEOKO. New York, NY: Clarion. ISBN 0618133356

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Kim Sun-hee and Kim Tae-yul were siblings growing up in Japanese-occupied Korea during World War II. Sun-hee was an intellectual girl who did well in school and was top of her class in kanji, the Japanese art of writing. Tae-yul was her older brother who would much rather work on something mechanical than study. They each have a unique view on their fading Korean culture.

The Japanese takeover came with many rules, and added more as needed. The flag, language, and daily culture were all required to be Japanese. The Korean citizens were even required to change their names to Japanese names, an act that the Kims reluctantly obliged. All Rose of Sharon trees were to be pulled up and burned, and replaced with Cherry trees. Any hint of Korean culture was stripped from every household.

Sun-hee was not very resistant of the changes, preferring some of the Japanese customs over her Korean ones. Tae-yul wanted his family to be proud of him. He joined the Kamikazes to help support his family. He often sent coded messages to his sister for her to decipher. The last message he wrote his family told them about his final mission and that he would not be returning home. Devastated, they accepted his sacrifice. He, later, was able to return home, unharmed.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
When My Name was Keoko tells the story of Korea during World War II. Park uses the voices of two siblings, Sun-hee and Tae-yul to describe the daily life in Japan-occupied Korea. Each sibling takes turns telling a section of their story. We see each event through both sets of eyes. Through the interwoven telling of these two siblings, we see the true pride in Korean culture from two unique views.

The language is fairly easy to follow and Park takes time in pointing out the meanings of Japanese and Korean words. Hints of culture are on every line, describing everything from food to expected gender roles. Park even includes many comparisons of the Japanese and Korean cultures.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: “Readers will come away with an appreciation of this period of history and likely a greater interest in learning more about it.”
AMAZON.COM REVIEW: “This well-researched historical novel is accompanied by a thoughtful author's note that explains what happened to Korea and families like the Kims after WWII and a bibliography to entice interested young readers into learning more about a topic largely unknown to American audiences.”

5. CONNECTIONS
*Students could be lead in discussion about World War II, Japanese culture and Korean culture
*Students could compare and contrast the two predominant cultures in this book
*Look for these other books of interest
Choi, Sook Nyul. YEAR OF IMPOSSIBLE GOODBYES. ISBN 0440407591
Park, Linda Sue. A SINGLE SHARD. ISBN 0440418518
Jiang, Ji-li. RED SCARF GIRL: MEMOIR OF THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION. ISBN 0061667714