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Pachinko by Korean American author Min Jin Lee is an intergenerational family saga that follows three generations of the Baek family as they traverse the complex terrain of identity and belonging following migration movements, spanning from late 19th century Korea to wartime Japan and eventually the USA. The novel is set on the backdrop of pivotal moments in Korean, Japanese and American history, from Japan’s colonial empire to the Second World War. Whilst there are many themes throughout the novel including resilience, family bonds, the themes of identity and belonging are at the heart of this story and form a central part of each of the main character’s narrative.
Sunja is the matriarch of the family, was born in Korea and moved to Japan in her late teens. She is the heart of the story, committing unwaveringly to a life in Japan for the sake of her son’s futures all the time grappling with the isolation, marginalisation and discrimination faced by the Korean community. Sunja’s life is characterised by a longing for the homeland and the constant support and encompassment of the Korean community that surrounds her.
Noa, Sunja’s eldest son, takes a different path, seeking acceptance in a society that, on the surface, considers him an outsider. His internalised hatred towards his own community and desire to assimilate into the dominant Japanese society reveal the profound impact of societal discrimination and acculturation processes. Indeed, Noa’s story is in many ways, one of the most arresting; Noa achieves his goal of passing as Japanese; but only after he has cut ties with his Korean family.
Conversely, Mozasu, Noa’s brother, is proud of his Korean identity. He rejects Japanese social norms and expectations and is content within the Korean community and marginalising himself from contact with the Japanese majority. Nonetheless, he also grapples with his own identity, recognising that in Korea he is regarded as a “Japanese bastard” and in Japan, a “dirty Korean”. This dual rejection depicts that way in which migrants can often be caught between two worlds, and illustrates the complex thematic paradox explored in Pachinko – that of both belonging and being alienated.
Soloman is Mozasu’s son, represents a unique blend of cultural belonging and illustrates how migrant identity’s evolve over generations.His father, in an attempt to spare his son difficulties, hopes for him to become a “citizen of the world” and thus raises him between Korea and the US, attending international schools and universities. Despite this, Soloman considers himself very secure in his Korean Japanese identity, perhaps cemented by his life in America, where the difference between Koreans and Japanese is not understood and rather anti-Asian sentiment is prevalent. Soloman’s Japanese Korean identity is made clear when introducing his Korean American girlfriend to his family – whilst she speaks Korean to his family and is visibly uncomfortable in Japan, Soloman is happy in his Japanese style house, and speaking Japanese to his Korean family and cannot reconcile his girlfriends hatred of Japan with many of his lifelong friends who are Japanese. He is thus representative of the changing and fluid nature of identity in today’s world, where cultural borders are blurred.
To conclude, Pachinko is a family saga that weaves together themes of identity, belonging and acculturation across generations of the Baek family and offers readers a thought provoking exploration of the Korean migrant experience in both Japan and to a lesser extent, the US. Indeed, the experiences of these characters mirror the experiences of migrants worldwide and reflect the intricate nature of identity among migrant communities.
References:
– Lee M. J. (2017). Pachinko (First). Grand Central Publishing
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