Jojo's Adventures

  In the novel, there are characters that seem to have defined gender roles, and there are some that blur the lines. For example, Kyunghee seems to portray a typical woman. She is extremely loyal to her husband, and respects him almost to a fault. She is also described as beautiful. Without the introduction of Sunja, she may have never had the courage to ask for anything. For example, she had the lovely idea of constructing a kimchi business. She is able to partially achieve this dream, but she would not have been able to do it without the encouragement from Sunja. She seems to be smart, but just enough to be a good wife. In a parallel sense, Yoseb is very ‘manly’. He has a strange addiction to tradition, and we see him slip into anger when he senses he is losing control. These are traits typically associated with a man. Then there are characters like Sunja. She is never described as pretty, in fact she is described as quite the opposite. She explores her sexuality with Hansu, but ...

  In certain places in the novel, there is a strong sense that Korean culture is inferior to Japanese culture. Oftentimes, aspects of the Koreans in the book are described as dirty or outdated (specifically referencing the clothes). There also were mentions of the hygiene of Koreans being worse than the Japanese. The ghetto where the family lives in Osaka is also described as being disgusting. However, there is a conflicting sense that the Korean culture demands more respect. For the most part, the Koreans are described as hardworking and reverential, where the Japanese are described as deceitful and survivalist. In the beginning of the novel, the phrase “with both hands” is used many times. This is when the characters are in Korea. This phrase seems to die out, as it is not used for many decades. But, as Noa accepts a gift of comic books from Hansu, Lee writes, “Noa accepted them with both hands, the way his mother had taught him. The writing was in Korean,” (211). This single phr...

  Hansu and Isak both have relationships with Sunja in the novel. However,  in both cases they seem to be “forced”. Maybe forced is not the right word but there is some circumstance that unfairly balances the power dynamic in both relationships. Hansu begins by eyeing Sunja from afar. She originally rejects him, which oddly compels him more (whatever happened to no means no). We sense that Sunja is flattered by his persistence, but this does not rationalize the way that we see Hansu treat Sunja. He begins by telling her to call him brother, which not only has an incestuous connotation, to also further perpetuates the power dynamic; she now seems him as superior. Hansu furthers this by talking about his life of grandeur, enchanting Sunja into thinking about a life so different from hers. She is drawn to the energy. The relationship between Sunja and Hansu is very one-sided. For the most part, they meet on his terms, where he does most of the talking. When they have sex, it seem...

  In both Osaka and Busan, there are major effects of Japanese colonization (obviously in Osaka because it is in Japan). In Busan, Sunja is almost raped by Japanese boys. There is also a presence of Japanese origin looming over the town. However, in Osaka it is much much worse. The Koreans live in a ghetto and are unable to move up in the world. I think the main difference between Busan and Osaka is that in Busan there is a lot more writing in regards to respect and tradition. It seems like Sunja and her mother have a place in the world there, whereas in Osaka Sunja and Isak seem to be thrown into a community that does not care about them. There is, however, a bit of conflict between how Osaka is portrayed vs how Sunja views it. She speaks about how her duties are less strenuous than in Busan, and compares her life to that of a life of luxury. But the narrator describes Osaka as disgusting (at least where Isak’s family lives). The narrator also makes note of the different fashion c...

  I researched the end of the Korean War. When you first search this term, the first thing that comes up is the fact that the war never actually ended because a peace treaty was never signed! I think that is an interesting fact. Additionally, the Korean War received much less public attention than other wars. Also, after the two sides agreed to a ceasefire, negotiations still continued for two whole years. Eventually, South Korea gained about an extra 1,500 miles, and a demilitarized zone (DMZ) was created. This zone is still active today! Though the Korean War was relatively short, about 5,000,000 people died. That is a major loss of life. 40,000 of those were American, and an additional 100,000 Americans were seriously wounded. In the current day, South Korea and the US agree that an official end of war proclamation is needed. However, North Korea still perceives hostile behavior from both sides and is not interested in a peace treaty unless the ‘hostile behavior’ ceases. North K...

  The Equiano group’s project was extremely enlightening. I knew slave ships were bad, but not that bad. A 45% mortality rate is absolutely horrendous. I literally cannot imagine living in captivity so close to other people. It really makes you appreciate everything you have/ all the space you have to move around. It also seems counter-intuitive. When so many of the people you need to sell die, aren’t you losing money? It would make more sense to create habitable environments. In light of this, it seems like those who forced slaves to be in the ships were simply evil. It is also saddening, but not surprising to learn of the commonality of suicide. When faced when actual torture, it is not suprising that many people chose death. Even when healthy, the outlook of servitude was probably horrifying. What I found most interesting were the revolts. I had not thought about the idea that slaves could revolt, and it is encouraging that the enslaved people did not give up. Apparently around ...

  In Equiano’s narrative, I think there is a combination of a slavery abolition movement and a movement to make it more tolerable. I think that Equiano, having spent most of his adult life in slavery, sees no other way of the world. In other words, slavery seems to be a part of the world he knows. In this sense, how can we expect him to think of abolishing it? It is like a disease, like cancer. It is present in the world, afflicting many many people. We can try to find ways to diminish it and make it more manageable, but a cure seems intangible. This compares to slavery in the time Equiano is writing because to him, slavery will always be a part of the society he lives in. The primary thoughts he has are ways to make it more like things he has experienced in the real world (benevolent slave owners). Although he becomes a free man, there are still slaves and racism all around him. Though he is legally free, we see that he is still not treated as equal (an example of this is when Doc...

  From Bella’s research excursion I learned that the Aboriginal peoples in Australia feel they have lost their own culture. This is due to the fact that the white settlers washed it away. Bella brings up a good point about how the indigenous people were forced to assimilate as a safety mechanism; they had no choice. This is something we do not see in The Secret River. The aboriginals reject the white ways, and instead try to teach them their own methods (though they are met with aggression and pity). In Bailey’s essay, I found it interesting that the true plan for Cook’s voyage was hidden from him and his crew mates at first. So deceptive! I think it was remiss to mention both the violent and non-violent interactions that took place between the indigenous people and Cook and his men. In truth, only the violent interactions matter, because they shadow over any “good” interaction that took place. Thinking about Cook’s journal, I always wonder with historical journals like these if th...