When My Name Was Keoko

Abuji’s silence and composure in response to Japanese occupation is in direct contrast to Uncle’s bold involvement in the Korean resistance. What are the pros and cons of each of these men’s approaches? How does the family benefit from each male’s response? How does the family suffer from each of their decisions?

Define Korean community in this novel. What does it look like? How does it form during times of oppression? What defines a member of the community? Why is it essential for each character to find this community and what role does it play for them?

There are many references of coded language in this novel. Identify three examples when characters must speak secretly. When and why does it happen? What causes them to code switch and how do they code their language? What are the effects of this coded communication? Does it benefit or hurt the characters involved?

Why is the Japanese Imperial Army so adamant about enforcing Japanese culture upon the Korean population? Why do they not allow Korean families to learn about their own history or keep their national symbols? Explain a moment in the story when this happens. Provide context and determine how it affects the characters’ identities.

Sun-hee’s journal nearly gets her family punished, yet she refuses to quit writing. Go back and re-read her journal entries. Choose one and analyze what it reveals about Sun-hee’s character: Why is Sun-hee’s journal so important for her? How does it empower her, specifically as a young Korean female? What does she reveal in the entry?

What does Mrs. Ahn’s refusal to learn Japanese numbers indicate about her character? Why doesn’t she simply learn Japan’s number system so that she can be accounted for without the risk of punishment? Does her strategy work?

“What did it mean to be Korean, when for all my life Korea had been part of Japan?” (8). This quote illuminates the contradiction of living in your country while under foreign occupation. Choose one major character and compare/contrast how they deal with the issue of national, political, and cultural allegiance to both Korea and Japan. What drives them to show their loyalty to each nation and how do they display their accordance with each?

How does learning about Abuji’s involvement in the resistance newspaper at the end of the novel influence the way you understood his character? Why do you think Linda Sue Park decided to inform the family and the readers about Abuji’s subversive acts at the end of the book and not sooner in the story? What might this withheld revelation suggest about other characters in the novel?