When My Name was Keoko by Linda Sue Park

Bibliography
Park, Linda Sue. 2002. When My Name was Keoko. New York: Clarion Books.

ISBN: 0-618-13335-6

Summary
When My Name was Keoko, is a parallel story told through the viewpoints of a sister and a brother. They relate their difficult lives during the Japanese occupation of Korea.

Critical Analysis
Award-winning author Linda Sue Park, writes an eloquent historical fiction story about a Korean family's life in Korea from 1940-1945. Park's descriptive words help set the scene of the setting, whether taking place in the family's home or out in public.

Also, Park does an excellent job at making the plot believable and the theme universal. Readers can connect with the two narrators. For example, at the start of the story, Sun-Hee and Tae-yul find out the Japanese are forcing them to rename themselves with Japanese names. Tau-yul states, "A different name? I can't imagine it. I look at Sun-Hee and I can tell she's thinking the same thing" (5). The parallel stories of the siblings helps readers connect to the theme. Sun-hee and Tae-yul react differently to situations, displaying the different emotions, feelings, and actions we may all feel.

Park's writing style is indicative of the time period, mixing in a few Korean words to help the story flow. Additionally, Park does an amazing job at weaving true historical events into the story, making the story authentic and accurate. For example, kamikaze pilots, leaflets dropped from an airplane, rose of Sharon trees uprooted and burned, and the changing of Korean names are all part of Korean history during this time period (193-4). Linda Sue Park validates the historical events through Author's Notes and a Bibliography at the end of the book.

A poignant story set in a time period that is not well-known, When My Name was Keoko, is an outstanding story for fifth graders to adults.

Review Excerpts
Publishers' Weekly announces, "A brother and sister alternate as narrators in Newbery Medalist Park's (A Single Shard) well-constructed novel, which takes place from 1940-1945 in Japanese-occupied Korea . . . . Through the use of the shifting narrators, Park subtly points up the differences between male and female roles in Korean society; and the father's process of choosing the family's Japanese name speaks volumes about his strength and intelligence. . . . [T]elling details provide a clear picture of Sun-hee and Tae-yul and their world. Readers will come away with an appreciation of this period of history and likely a greater interest in learning more about it" (2002).

Barbara Scotto with School Library Journal reports, "What is outstanding is the insight Park gives into the complex minds of these young people. Each of them reacts to the events in different ways-Sun-hee takes refuge in writing while Tae-yul throws his energies into physical work. Yet in both cases they develop subtle plans to resist the enemy. Like the Rose of Sharon tree, symbol of Korea, which the family pots and hides in their shed until their country is free, Sun-hee and Tae-yul endure and grow. This beautifully crafted and moving novel joins a small but growing body of literature, such as Haemi Balgassi's Peacebound Trains (Clarion, 1996) and Sook Nyul Choi's The Year of Impossible Goodbyes (Houghton, 1991), that expands readers' understanding of this period" (2002).

Connections
Other stories by Linda Sue Park set in Korea:
Archer's Quest
A Single Shard
The Firekeeper's Son
The Kite Fighters
Seesaw Girl