ary 2, 249). Hence, in Through the Arc of the Rain
Forest, Yamashita may be attempting to widen
her narrative scope to explore not just the rela-
tionship between East and West but also North
and South.
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Rody, Caroline. “Impossible Voices: Ethnic Postmod-
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Eliko Kosaka
To Swim across the World
Frances Park and Ginger Park (2001)
In 1941 Sei-young and Heisook live at oppo-
site ends of Korea under the colonial occupation
of Japan. Sei-young is a young boy in southern
Korea, unable to understand his father’s drinking
habits in the face of his family’s poverty. In north-
ern Korea, Heisook is the privileged daughter of
a minister who bribes the Japanese to let him run
his church. She lives comfortably under Japanese
occupation until Changi, her older brother who
rebels against the Japanese, enlightens her with the
truth of their nation’s humiliating subjugation.
Her blistered hands from sewing socks for Japa-
nese soldiers symbolize her premature departure
from childhood at the age of 12. Heisook’s older
brother is drafted to fight for the Japanese army
and her father flees to the south.
In the south, Sei-young suffers the loss of his fa-
ther and beloved younger brother. After Japan loses
the war and leaves Korea, Sei-young and Heisook
find their lives even more complicated with the
intrusion of Russian and American governments.
Heisook is forced to leave her mother in North
Korea as she moves south to reunite with her fa-
ther. Before the outbreak of the Korean War in
1950, Sei-young and Heisook meet in Seoul. Their
subsequent marriage symbolizes a triumphant
union, though the people around them are increas-
ingly polarized before and after the Korean War.
Their story ends in 1955 with their departure to
the United States, which signifies a new beginning
for them. Although a strong thread of Christian
faith runs through both Sei-young’s and Heisook’s
stories, they each question God’s protection and
sovereignty as death and violence descend upon
their families under Japanese occupation. The end
of the Korean War brings neither true peace nor
unity of the nation, but Seiyoung and Heisook’s
marital union brings hope for a better future.
In this riveting story of tragedy, love, and na-
tionalism, the Park sisters weave together their par-
ents’ histories to form one unifying tale of survival
and to show the effect of a nation’s unfortunate
history on so many lives. It is a testimony of how
faith could uphold families in the face of the most
horrendous times of suffering. The story celebrates
the perseverance of an entire nation still plagued
by remembrances of war. Sei-young’s name means
“to swim across the world” according to his grand-
father; it symbolizes Korea as a nation that extends
its influence across oceans and borders.
Sarah ParkTrenka, Jane Jeong (1972– )
The Language of Blood: A Memoir (2003), Jane
Jeong Trenka’s first novel, is a memoir of her life
as a Korean adoptee in the United States and her
journeys back to Korea in search of her origin and
birth family. Jane and her biological sister, Carol,
formerly Kyong-Ah and Mi-Ja respectively, were
born in Korea and adopted by a white couple in
Minnesota. The couple raised Carol and Jane as
though they were white children whose lives began
not at their birth, but at the moment they stepped
on American soil. Carol, the older daughter,
adapted more easily into the homogenous town
of Harlow, Minnesota. Jane, however, constantly286 To Swim across the World