Culturally Diverse – When My Name Was Keoko by Linda Sue Park

 

 

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Park, L. S. (2002). When my name was Keoko. Clarion Books.

This book falls under the genres of Historical Fiction, War Fiction and Young Adult literature. The age recommendations for this book are ages 10 to 16 years old.

Thoughts- Linda Sue Park captivates readers with this deeply emotional story about difficult events such as war, oppression, and identity loss. She presents these complex topics in a way that is easy for young readers to understand. By sharing the perspectives of two main characters, she shows how people experiencing the same events can have different emotions and understandings.

Park’s novel made me reflect on the importance of language, identity, and cultural traditions. Growing up with parents who spoke only Spanish for many years, I remembered times when they were shamed for not speaking English. It also reminded me of my early school years when we learned about World War I and World War II only from the American perspective. Now, I better understand how difficult the war was for all sides involved.

Critique- This novel is a historical fiction that follows a Korean sister (Sun-Hee) and brother (Tae-yul) during World War II during Japan’s occupation in Korea. Korea under Japanese rule in a central point to the impact of the story and the characters as their identities, language and many other freedoms are stripped away. The author does a good job at touching themes or resistance, family loyalty and pride in culture. The alternating perspectives add many layers of details and emotions to the story line and characters.

Discussion Questions –

How did Sun-hee and Tae-yul respond differently to Japanese occupation and what to their responses reveal about their own personalities?

What does it mean for the characters to lose or hide their Korean names?

Why do you think cultural traditions are so important to keep?

Lesson Activity: Voice of Resistance – Exploring Perspectives and Identity

Students will choose either Sun-hee or Tae-Yul and write a journal entry as that character.

Lesson Objective: Students will analyze personal identity and resistance are expressed through character perspectives by understanding creative journal writing from a character point of view.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/When-My-Name-Was-Keoko-Novel-Unit-Literature-Guide-9446527

https://lithouselearning.com/products/when-my-name-was-keoko-novel-study

 

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