I am afraid there will be terrible trouble-'Ībuji cleared his throat to cut off Uncle's words. 'They're masters of organization-if they want this done, you can be sure they will find a way to do it. 'I don't know, Hyungnim,' he said, disagreeing respectfully. The longer I stayed in the room, the more I'd hear. I put the bowls on the shelf one at a time, arranging them in a very straight line. From the window I could reach a shelf in the kitchen. The kitchen was built three steps down from the central courtyard, and the sitting room three steps up. Finally, I moved around the table and began putting the bowls through the little low window between the sitting room and the kitchen. Then I stacked the brass bowls-quietly, so they wouldn't clang against one another. First I scraped the scraps of food and dregs of soup into an empty serving dish. I wasn't supposed to listen to men's business, but I couldn't help it. He was talking to Uncle and my brother, Tae-yul, as they sat around the low table after dinner, drinking tea. My father wasn't talking to me, of course. 'It's only a rumor,' Abuji said as I cleared the table. I have taken the liberty of using 'Uncle' instead of the correct Korean term, Ajushi, because I felt its similarity to the word for 'father' (Abuji) might cause confusion for readers. Yobo (yuh-BO): like 'dear' or 'honey,' used exclusively between husband and wife Opah (OH-pah): 'older brother,' used by a younger sisterĪjima (ah-JIM-ah): 'auntie,' used for relatives and also as a term of respect and affection for older women outside the family Hyungnim (hyung-NIM): 'older brother,' used by a younger brother The following terms of address are used throughout this story: In addition to relationship, they signify rank, respect, and affection to a greater degree than their equivalents in English. Terms of address are an important part of Korean culture. Heartfelt thanks to Audrey Debije, Marsha Hayles, Patrick O'Neill, Ed and Susie Park, and Nancy Quade, for reading drafts of the manuscript and offering valuable comments Ginger Knowlton, for cheering me up and on Jim Armstrong, for his eagle eye Ben Dobbin, for constant support and especially Dinah Stevenson, for clearsightedness, gentle prodding, and timely doses of encouragement over what proved to be a long haul. Korea-History-1910–1945-Juvenile fiction. World War II, which threatens to suppress Korean culture entirely.ġ. The increasingly oppressive occupation of Korea by Japan during Summary: With national pride and occasional fear, a brother and sister face When my name was Keoko / by Linda Sue Park,

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