Finding Junie Kim

Finding Junie Kim is the 2021 Freeman Book Award winner for young adult/middle school literature by Ellen Oh, best-selling Korean American children’s book author and co-founder of the We Need Diverse Books Organization. Oh is best known for her middle grade horror/fantasy fiction, which features multicultural protagonists that face mythological and supernatural creatures in the Dragon King Chronicles and The Spirit Hunters series. In Finding Junie Kim, the second-generation Korean American author transitions to realism, exploring the isolation that diverse adolescents often feel within their families and American culture. The author blends historical fiction with the Problem Novel in this middle grade Bildungsroman about Junie Kim, a second-generation Korean American middle school student who lives near Washington, DC. The adolescent protagonist learns the value of a positive attitude and self-advocacy in the face of racism in this novel, inspired by the amazing stories of Oh’s mother. In the novel, Junie finds voice and acceptance while learning about the dangers of silence in the face of evil as she listens to the stories of her Korean grandparents, who survived the atrocities of the Korean War.

This guide refers to the 2021 Harper Collins edition of the novel.

Content Warning: The source material features depictions of racism and bigoted language, racist bullying, microaggressions, racial slurs, war and related trauma, emotional distress, and suicidal ideation with themes of loss and separation. Any racial epithets are replicated in this guide only in direct quotes from the source material.

Plot Summary

The novel consists of five books. Book 1 begins in contemporary America, where the protagonist Junie faces issues with bullying and racism from a white male named Tobias on her morning bus ride to school. Tobias bullies Junie by insulting her Korean heritage and referring to her as “Red” and “Commie.” Depressed and isolated, Junie maintains silence about the bullying and racism that she suffers.

Junie suffers further isolation as her depression and negativity impact her multi-racial friend group as they attempt to educate the school on racism in response to an attack of racist vandalism. This crime encourages further vandalism, which overwhelms Junie while spurring her friends to combat racism in the school.

At home, regular family dinners with her Korean grandparents, who emigrated to the US after the events of the Korean War, demonstrate Junie’s lack of awareness about her family history and Korean culture. These developments are offset by the introduction of an oral history project where students must interview family members who lived during one of three major periods impacted by war.

Tired of Junie’s negativity, Junie’s best friend, Patrice, gives the protagonist an ultimatum to participate in their educational activism or end their friendship. This, alongside further bullying, causes Junie to suffer an emotional crisis that results in thoughts of suicide and finally reveals Junie’s suffering to her family. Book 1 ends with the development of a support system that includes prescription medicine and therapy to provide Junie with tools to combat depression and improve her mental state.

In Book 2, Junie is staying with her grandparents. Book 2 is set in Sesani, South Korea, in 1950, at the beginning of the Korean War and told from the perspective of her grandfather when he was 12 years old, and each chapter begins with Doha Han’s narrative and concludes with commentary between Grandpa and Junie.

The beginning of Book 2 establishes the ideological conflict between democracy and communism and reveals the foreign influences of the Cold War upon Korea. America and the UN support South Korea, while Russia and China support North Korea. Doha’s friends begin to fight with each other because of these influences as the war encroaches upon everyday life. Doha tries to mediate with his friend Gunwoo, who grows angry and rejects their friend Sunjin as he tries to survive while living among Red supporters. At the same time, Dr. Han, Doha’s father and a respected elder in the community, mediates between the Republic of Korea Army (ROKA) supporters and other Koreans caught up in the conflict.

The events of the war begin to overtake Seosan, and Doha relates the early atrocities of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) against ROKA soldiers after the invasion by the North Koreans. Later, when the ROKA takes back control of Seosan, Doha relates the oppression, violence, and cruelty of the ROKA army as an atmosphere of fear and suspicion overtakes South Korea.

Amid this conflict, Gunwoo’s father is murdered when Seosan is under KPA control, and Gunwoo accuses Sunjin of being a communist sympathizer under ROKA rule, leading to the arrest of Sunjin and his family. Book 2 concludes with Doha badly beaten when he and his sister stand up against the rise of false accusations and imprisoning of Koreans.

Book 3 returns to Junie in a contemporary American setting as she integrates this new awareness of her Korean heritage into her life. She mends her friendships and takes steps to create a more positive attitude that includes participation in the activism her friends are engaging in. Racism and criminal vandalism continue to impact the school. Junie suspects who the criminal may be.

Grandpa has a stroke and quickly declines. Junie promises to care for her grandmother, and Grandpa passes away during the night. Junie uses her tools and techniques to remain positive and accepts her role in helping Grandma heal from Grandpa’s passing.

Book 4 follows the same format as Book 2, set in Incheon, South Korea, at the beginning of the Korean War. The main narrative is told from the perspective of Jinjoo, who is 10 when North Korea invades Incheon. Each chapter ends with a short commentary between Junie and Grandma.

Jinjoo’s tale begins with the death of her cousin, a police officer. Her father accompanies his sister, Gomo, to Suwon to escape any further acts of violence from the North Koreans. He is arrested during the trip and taken to Seoul. Jinjoo’s mother leaves Jinjoo, Eunjoo, and her two small brothers in the care of the house maid and goes to get their father released from prison. Days later, the maid steals everything from the family and leaves the children alone.

Jinjoo and her siblings beg for food before they are taken by the police to be brought to an orphanage. Suspicious of the North Korean soldiers, Jinjoo and her siblings run away from the police station. First, the children travel with an elderly couple to Suwon to find their Gomo, unsure of the way to Seoul and aware of the violence from the war. Once the children arrive in Suwon, Jinjoo decides to go to Seoul, certain they must go now or lose their parents forever. The rest of Book 4 is the journey and reunion of Jinjoo’s family.

Book 5 is set in contemporary America. The girls show a video that Junie creates to the school during a school assembly to educate them about racism. The culprit of the racist vandalism within the school is caught and expelled. Junie stands up to Tobias and gains allies among her peers on the bus. The Book concludes when Junie and her family visit South Korea.