Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood

On a late-August Sunday morning, Mrs. Kim wakes Kim up early for chores. She is pregnant, and Kim hopes for a little brother—he has a sister already. They stay at a cottage by the family apple orchards during the summer, visiting Kim’s grandparents in town on Sundays.

Kim received a bicycle from his maternal uncles for becoming class leader in third grade. He and his father typically ride alongside the oxcart Mrs. Kim and Kim’s sister are riding in. Mr. Kim goes on ahead to supervise the market, and Kim rides until he is out of breath and gets on the oxcart.

On Sundays, all school children must attend a morning assembly for the Japanese principal’s lecture and calisthenic exercises. This also ensures that the Christian children are unable to attend church. Class leaders have to stay even longer to help out with whatever tasks the teachers assign them.

Kim scans the vast apple orchard, then he calls for his father, who calls back that he is coming. The family goes to town to have breakfast with Kim’s grandparents. Kim rushes through breakfast, eager to get to school to catch up with his friends.