Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood

“Han is difficult to translate into other languages. It is a composite of ideas and emotions and everything that goes with a certain perception and understanding of humanity’s misfortunes and tragedies—all compressed into one single Chinese character.”

Han is a concept unique to Korean culture which, in many ways, is a definitive characteristic of Korean literature. Kim wants his autobiography to subvert Han, which he sees as a demeaning reaction to negative situations. 

“My Mother thinks my father should say, ‘Look, you, too, are working for foreigners, as their hound.’” 

Many Koreans worked for the Japanese authorities during colonial occupation. Though there were many complex motives behind collaboration, for many patriotic Koreans, such as the Kims, working for the oppressors is seen as a betrayal. 

“‘But you can and you will,’ I say to her. ‘And you have, many times since, if not crossing a frozen river on foot.’” 

Crossing the thin ice on the frozen river was a moment fraught with danger, but also a moment marked by bravery. Kim reminds his mother that, in the years that follow, she and her family have crossed metaphorical “thin ice” many times. Such bravery is necessary to survive under the repressive Japanese regime.