The first quote that comes to mind regarding this prompt is from the beginning of the novel. This scene was told from Sunja's perspective and is, specifically, when Sunja goes to the market to buy groceries and is harassed by some young boys. The boys tell her the following: "Yobos eat dogs and now they're stealing the food of dogs! Do girls like you eat bones? You stupid bitch" (30). I found it interesting how Sunja was buying bones, which were considered an expensive delicacy, yet the boys thought it was disgusting and were shaming her for it. This was one of the first moments in the book when I realized how tense relations were between Korean and Japanese people. Obviously, a similarity between both of these cultures is that there are culinary delicacies. A difference, however, is what those foods are, specifically. So, each culture seems to think there's is better and doesn't acknowledge the validity of the other.
I thought it was interesting how Sunja reacted: "The only word she understood for certain was yobo, which normally meant 'dear' but was also a derogatory epithet used by the Japanese to describe Koreans" (30). To me, this emphasized the lack of communication between Japanese and Korean people. They were insulting her, but she didn't even know what they were saying. I found this interesting because it made me wonder how amicability is possible without communication or acceptance of the other culture.
Hey Audrey! The use of the term 'yobo' is especially interesting in this scene. Just as the bones are either a delicacy or a shameful food depending on the culture, 'yobo' is either a derogatory term or term of endearment depending on the culture. I wonder how many other words, objects, or actions exhibit these opposing connotations in Japanese and Korean contexts.
ReplyDeleteHello Audrey! I too didn't realize just how tense the relationships between Japanese and Koreans were during this time. I wrote a similar post about the Seolleongtang soup and how Japanese viewed it. In addition to your comments on the term "yobo", I also want to put forth that often times, since women are considered inferior to men in these contexts and using terms such as "dear" or "sweetheart" are have often been used to bring forth this sense of inferiority because, in a sense, it bring to mind young children. And, as we know, children are not equal to adults, in the sense of mental capabilities. Thus by calling women these terms they are referring to them as being mentally inferior and such. I wonder if this is another reason that the Japanese use the term "yobo" to be derogatory.
ReplyDeleteHi Audrey! It's very interesting how the context of a word can change its meaning. The contrast of the meanings of 'yobo' was really intriguing to me. I wonder what other words in Japanese/Korean and other cultures have different meanings.
ReplyDeleteHey Audrey, you offer an interesting thought: is amicability possible if the cultures are unable to communicate with one another? I also find it fascinating that "yobo" can mean a term of endearment in one culture and then an insult in the language of another culture.
ReplyDeleteI think this is all indicative of how poor the relationship between the Japanese and the Koreans were in the setting of the novel. It sheds light on how Koreans would consistently be viewed as lesser people by the Japanese of the era. It was not a matter of respectability, wealth, or presentation, but simply the fact that they were Korean, which meant they could never be equal no matter what.
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ReplyDeleteHi Audrey- I also remember this scene being the first time that I understood the severity of the tensions between the Japanese and Koreans during this time period. I think this this scene was mirrored when Noa started becoming embarrassed of the way his clothes smelled after Sunja and Kyunghee started making large amounts of kimchi to sell on the streets. The main thing I understood from both of these scenes in Pachinko was that Koreans during this time experienced the most pushback when making significant steps in improving their quality of life. Just like Sunja had to start going more places on her own to help her mom after her dad died, she also started making kimchi after she was able to break away from the typical gender norms for women at the time in order to help her family financially.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your observation about the lack of communication between the Korean and Japanese people in the book. It's a powerful reminder that even when two groups of people may live in close proximity to one another, misunderstandings and biases can still arise due to a lack of understanding and empathy. Sunja's experience highlights the importance of communication and education in breaking down barriers and promoting acceptance and understanding between cultures.
ReplyDeleteHey Audrey, you are right in how this scene is the first time any of us were really able to be made aware of how tense the cultures were with one another. The language gap you pointed out was far more extreme than I expected when first reading this scene. It also says a lot about the cultures interactions with one another when finding out the only word Sunja understood from the exchange was a derogatory word. If this is all she knows from their language, it is likely that she heard it before.
ReplyDeleteHi Audrey, I liked the specific example you mentioned from the text about how in every day life even, the Japanese just hate on the Koreans. Disagreements on what food is good lead to verbal attacks, simply because Sunja is Korean. It is also interesting to me how the only word Sunja knew was the derogatory word against Koreans, this probably means she was called this a lot, so much that she ended up picking up the meaning.
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