When My Name Was Keoko

Summary

The story takes place in 1940s Korea and is told through the different perspectives of Tae-yul and his sister Sun-hee. They, along with all Korean citizens, are forced to adopt new names in Japanese to reflect the new law put out by the Japanese government. Sun-hee's family chooses the last name of "Kaneyama" for the family. For their first names each family member picks a random letter in the Japanese alphabet and will choose their name according to which one they pick. Sun-hee chose the letter K and Tae-yul chose N, so their names became Kaneyama Keoko and Kaneyama Nobuo. As the book progresses the story switches between Sun-hee/Keoko's time in school with her friend Tomo and interest in Japanese kanji, and Tae-yul/Nobuo's interest in machinery.

Due to Japan attacking Korea, food is scarce and Sun-hee and Tae-yul's family members often fight with each other. Things grow more tense after the United States enter the war, giving Tae-yul his first glimpse of an airplane- which prompts him to fantasize flying one himself. Life for the siblings is relatively dull except for the occasional news given out by the neighborhood block leader. During this time all citizens are ordered to stop their activities and head out to the streets to listen to news, which was given to the block leaders by government officials. One night Sun-hee is sent to deliver her uncle his dinner, as he's been spending more and more time at his job in a printing shop. On her way there she's stopped by her friend Tomo, who gives her a vague warning that she takes to mean that her uncle was in danger. Sun-hee's uncle runs off after hearing the warning and it's revealed through Tae-yul's narration that their uncle had been printing newspapers for the resistance.

However Sun-hee soon finds that Tomo's warning wasn't to indicate that the government was aware of his activities with the resistance, but that they were going to take all metal items (which includes the printing press) and donate them to the military. This means that her uncle's escape was for no reason, which become more tragic once his flight is announced by one of the neighborhood block leaders. As the days progress the siblings hear more news about kamikaze pilots that are commanded to fly to their deaths, which fascinates Tae-yul. Eventually Tae-yul is approached by the police, who want him to arrange a meeting with his uncle. This puts Tae-yul under a lot of pressure, since accepting it would end with his uncle's arrest and refusing it would put him at the mercy of the government, who could do anything to him. He ends up enlisting in the Imperial Japanese Army, as it would allow him to leave the country without having to accept or deny the police's request.

While Tae-yul is in training he overhears two Japanese officers joking and sneering about Koreans in relation to a volunteer mission, as they viewed them as too worthless and cowardly to volunteer. Because of this, Tae-yul immediately volunteers- only to discover that it is for a kamikaze mission. Tae-yul is put through rudimentary flight training that is cut short due to a lack of Japanese soldiers. As he doesn't want to die, Tae-yul secretly plans of a way to escape the certain death that would come from his mission. He's spared from this fate when the day for the mission arrives, as the weather makes it impossible for the pilots to successfully fly. Tae-yul and the others return to base where they are arrested. Months later the block leaders announce in Korean that Japan had lost the war to the United States. Tae-yul returns home, where he confesses to his family that his plan was that when the time came, he would take out another kamikaze pilot instead of aiming at the American ships. Finally home and together again, Sun-hee teaches her brother the Korean alphabet, which she learned from their father after Korea was freed.

Reception

Critical reception has been positive, and When My Name Was Keoko has received a review from the School Library Journal and two reviews from the Horn Book Guide. AudioFile praised the book's story while criticizing that the audiobook narration was "at times flat and without emotion". Publishers Weekly gave When My Name Was Keoko a starred review and wrote "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." Kliatt and Reading Time both praised the work and Kliatt commented that it would be of good use in classrooms, especially those focused in literary, history, or had "students of Korean roots and good students who like substance in their stories."

Awards