Then as she's doing laundry, Sora sees an elderly woman rush to the river. Suddenly all the women at the river begin leaving for home and Sora races home as well. At home Youngsoo announces to their parents, Sangman and Yuri, that school has been cancelled because North Korea is now at war with South Korea.
Korea was divided into two countries after World War II and the defeat of Japan, with North Korea a Communist dictatorship and South Korea a democracy. If North Korea wins, all of Korea will be Communist. Before the Communists, Japan occupied Korea. Sora's family, like other Koreans, were forced to adopt Japanese names and their Hangul language was banned. Youngsoo is thrilled that there is no more school, but Sora is worried.
Later that evening Mr. and Mrs. Kim, their son Myung-gi and daughter Yoomee visit for dinner. Sora finds fourteen-year-old Myung-gi attractive. Like her, Myung-gi loves books and always carries around a bag of books. But today he shows Sora that his bag is filled with books about communism telling her he is "tired of reading the same mind-numbing rubbish. Marxist dialectics. Revolutionary principles. Everything for the collective."
During a dinner of rice, bean-sprout soup, kimchi and pancakes, the Kims tell the Paks they are planning to escape North Korea and travel to the South. Sora realizes if they escaped to the South they would have their freedom and not live in fear of their neighbours and maybe Sora could return school? Mr. Kim tells them they plan to settle in Busan on Korea's southern coast. Sora's father seems open to this idea and offers his wife's brother's house in Busan. But her mother is furious and tells the Kims they cannot possibly go with them, that it's too dangerous, and she admonishes Mr. Kim for telling them of their plans as it endangers her family.
Sora is devastated at her parents' refusal but she overhears her father give Mr. Kim directions to Uncle Hong-Chul's home. She knows that her mother's refusal is due to the fear over what happened to her own family: the execution of her mother's uncles, aunts and cousins because a relative was accused of being a traitor by the Communist regime. Sora's family was spared because it was not their family and her mother told the North Korean police her relative had broken into their house.
After this Sora's (mother) Omahni refuses to permit them from seeing or talking about the Kim's. When North Korea announces it has captured Seoul, Omahni insists that if they simply keep their heads down and follow the rules they will be fine. But Sora's father, Abahji isn't so convinced as he points out that under Communist rule they will not have free elections, there will be no contact with the outside world or freedom of speech. Abahji believes the Kim's will soon leave and that they will make it to Busan where it is safe.
Days later the Kim family is gone and rumours abound as to their fate. Because there is the belief that the Kim's are in a labour camp or worse, Omahni tells them that they are being shunned by association and she keeps Sora and her brothers inside.
By August 1950, Sora's village is emptying. Omahni insists that people are being taken by the police. When North Korea imposes a draft, Sora's family did a large pit at the edge of the millet field to hide Abahji in it for days at a time.
In September 1950, they learn that General MacArthur, head of the American forces and their allies have recaptured Seoul and Inchon. Then in October, with the Americans continuing to push north, Sora's village is bombed. Eventually Pyongyang is taken and soon American troops arrive in their village.
Then in November, China joins the war on the side of North Korea and the tide turns against the Americans. Abahhi is insistent that they leave that night, ahead of the American retreat. He tells an angry Omahni that once the Americans are gone they will be trapped in North Korea forever. When Sora sides with her father, Omahni gives in and they pack and leave for the South. Although the Pak family will gain their freedom, it will come at a price they could not have imagined. For Sora and Youngsoo it will be a journey that will forever change them.
Discussion
Brother's Keeper is Julie Lee's debut novel. Set in a Korea, divided by war, Lee chronicles the experiences of the Pak family's struggle to survive under the Communist dictatorship in North Korea, their difficult decision to finally flee their home, and the journey of the oldest two children when they become separated from their family. Although Brother's Keeper is historical fiction, it is based on real-life events that occurred during the Korean war. City bombings, refugees crossing frozen rivers in canoes and on ice floes only to perish and taking refuge in abandoned homes were just some of the situations refugees from the North, like Sora and Youngsoo encountered, in their rush to freedom. It is also based on the experiences of her mother, who was fifteen-years-old and living in North Korea when the war began, and who also made the harrowing journey south as a refugee.
Set against the backdrop of the Korean war, Lee also explores the themes of filial duty to tradition and the place of women in Korean society through the character of twelve-year-old Sora Pak. The Korean people have spent decades under Japanese occupation , during which the Japanese attempted to eradicate Korean culture. Their native language was suppressed and Koreans were forced to adopt Japanese names. There is also an indirect reference to the possible use of comfort women when Sora states that "Japanese soldiers even kidnapped several girls from the high school."
When the Japanese were defeated, Koreans were allowed to resume their Korean names and language. As the country came under the control of the Communists, Koreans would be eager to continue their cultural traditions despite the restrictions imposed on them. One of these was for girls to marry young, often at the age of sixteen. It was not uncommon for young girls to be pulled from school at a certain age to be trained in domestic duties like cooking and caring for children, in preparation for marriage. Sons were more valued than daughters and to have a son was considered a great blessing.
In Brother's Keeper, as the title suggests, Sora, who loves school and is a good student, has been pulled to care for her younger brother Jisoo who is two years old. It is her duty to do so. Sara feels "a twinge of loss....For all the learning I was missing. Math. Geography. Science...." Whenever she can, Sora hides behind the willow tree near the school window to listen in on the class. Helping her in this regard is her friend, Myung-gi Kim who leaves books for her beneath the willow tree. But Sora still dreams, even imagining herself one day graduating from high school.
Instead of school, Sora finds herself forced to do child care and cooking and her lack of interest means Sora has difficulty mastering this task, which makes Omahni critical and abusive towards her. She wonders when Sora will learn to cook and how she will ever marry her off. Omahni even comments on the colour of Sora's skin, "How is it that my daughter got the tan skin while my sons inherited my fair complexion?"
Omahni is even critical of Sora in front of the entire Kim family, telling them, "No, our daughter is terrible in the kitchen, ... She's a clumsy girl who hates housework. I'm sure we'll never be able to get her married off when she's older." Sora feels betrayed even though it is the custom for "humble parents always criticized their own children in front of others. It was the polite thing to do..."
When the Kim's reveal their plan to escape from North Korea, Sora is hopeful because she knows that there is more freedom in South Korea. Even though she realizes her being pulled from school has nothing to do with communism, she wonders, "What if one kind of freedom led to another?" Sora siding with her father who desires to accompany the Kim family, invokes Omahni's wrath. "Do you think South Korea is some magical place to cure all your ills? she hissed, her eyes wild with fear. 'It's mad of the same dirt and rock as here. Nothing will change for you. You'll still be a daughter. You'll still be a noona. You must still follow our traditions. You can't get out of those responsibilities, if that's what you're thinking."
However, things become so bad that the Pak family finally decide to leave North Korea. On the way, Sora and Youngsoo become separated from their parents and Jinsoo. It is now up to Sora, a twelve-year-old girl to not only find their way to Busan but also care for her younger brother who becomes seriously ill. As they endure starvation, cold, and even attempts by Koreans to kidnap them, Sora and Youngsoo struggle through the horrors of war.
When they arrive at their uncle's home in Busan, the reunion in bittersweet. Omahni is overwhelmed at seeing her precious son but doesn't give much thought to Sora. It's obvious that Youngsoo is ill so Omahni, thinking only of her eldest son's welfare, asks Sora to attend the third grade class nearby. She doesn't care for Sora's education but wants her to attend so that she can help Youngsoo catch up. Sora is struck by just how much more valued Youngsoo as a son is, compared to herself, a daughter. She watches her mother making rice porridge for him, a dish that requires constant care. "Had she ever made rice porridge for me? A quick radish soup, maybe, when I was nine and had drenched my nightclothes in fever.But never the loving, labored devotion of rice porridge." When the conversation turns to consulting the matchmaker in a few years, it is more than Sora can bear. She flees after seeing her mother chop the head off a fish. This is a metaphor for how Sora sees her future. The loss of school and the expectation of forced marriage make Sora like the fish - her life is over.
As the reality of Youngsoo's illness becomes apparent, Sora is overcome with guilt as she questions whether his illness and death was due to her lack of care for him. She also believes that if she had sided with Omahni rather than Abahji, they would never have made the journey and Youngsoo would be alive. Sora experiences intense survivor's guilt believing "It should have been me instead of Youngsoo...Her precious son." Later on, Sora overhears Auntie talking to a woman in the market about the loss of Youngsoo and that at least they still have one son. The woman then sympathizes, "Can you imagine if she'd lost her only son and was left with nothing." implying that Sora has no worth because she's a daughter. Sora wonders what she has risked everything for as it seems Omahni won't relent. "I'd risked everything -- including my brother's life -- to get here, thinking one kind of freedom would automatically lead to another, that I could go to school, that I could write, that we would be happy. But I was wrong." At this point Sora realizes she is going to have to fight for what she wants.
In a scene that is absolutely heartrending, Sora finally confronts Omahni during a cooking lesson, over Youngsoo's death and her desire to return to school. After telling her that she did her best to care for Youngsoo, Sora also states that she is forcing her to be someone that she is not and that she just wants to do something different. But Sora's mother sees this as a negative reflection on her own worth, that Sora is ashamed of her because she is uneducated. Because Sora is always doing the opposite of what she asks, Omahni inadvertently reveals that this is why Sora is her least favourite, a revelation that deeply hurts Sora as it seems to confirm what she believes. Sora tells her mother she is worth something.
From their heated exchange it is evident that Omahni is acting out of fear for her daughter and her own insecurities. Her experience of being judged and found wanting by her mother-in-law and therefore unworthy, leads her to want to save Sora from this fate. So she overcompensates by attempting to teach Sora to be a perfect cook, something Sora has no interest in. Omahni sees her actions as preparing Sora to survive in a world that is harsh towards women. Sora tells her mother she will survive because she's taught her to be strong and work hard.
Brother's Keeper is a well written novel that explores the Korean War from the point of view of children, portraying the devastating effects of war on families, women and children. Lee has provided her readers with a realistic portrayal of the war and the plight of Korean refugees as they struggled to escape the brutal Communist regime. All of the novel's characters are believable and unique. Sora, as the protagonist, is compelling as she fights for what she truly wants in her own life, going against the conventions of this era.
Seventy years later Korea remains divided, with families now separated over several generations. Life in North Korea under the communist dictatorship is harsh with no contact with the outside world and few freedoms. Considering what little is known about life in North Korea, it is understandable why so many wanted to flee, leaving homes and family behind.
To help her young readers orient themselves, Lee has provided a map of the Korean peninsula showing Sora and Youngsoo's journey to freedom. Also included are a Glossary of Korean Words and a Timeline of the Korean War. The informative Author's Note, with black and white photographs of the author's mother, helps provide the necessary historical background for the novel.
Brother's Keeper is historical fiction at its very best.
Book Details:
Brother's Keeper by Julie Lee
New York: Holiday House 2020
314 pp.
Brother's Keeper by Julie Lee
New York: Holiday House 2020
314 pp.
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