Customer Reviews

When My Name Was Keoko (Jane Addams Honor Book (Awards))

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I was younger, my mom told me her older sister was a girl during the time when Japan occupied Korea. I never gave it much thought until I read this book. My aunt also had to change her name and learn Japanese in school. As a Korean-American who was born and raised in the US, I can't even begin to imagine the hardships they had to endure.

The story is simply written but may be a little difficult to follow for younger readers because of the flip-flop narration between the brother and sister. But it is a beautiful story. What I loved most was that while the story is from the point of view of 2 Korean children, the author did not villanize the Japanese. In a world that is consumed by hate, it is refreshing to read a story that is about family, friends, and hope, instead of hate and revenge.

I love this book so much I have bought a copy for my school library.

I am a middle school Language Arts teacher from Florida where WHEN MY NAME WAS KEOKO is among the 15 books selected as Sunshine State Young Readers recommended books for the 2005-2006 school year. Having read all 15 books this summer, a few stood out as being worth a 5 star rating; WHEN MY NAME WAS KEOKO is one of those books and, in my humble opinion, the best of the all.

Were I to be asked to teach character using a young adult (YA) novel, I would certainly choose this book from this list (which also includes the excellent YA titles: GRANNY TORELLI MAKES SOUP, SAHARA SPECIAL, THE UNSEEN and AL CAPONE DOES MY SHIRTS -- I would also highly recommend the superb SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson). The beauty of this historical fiction is that it seems so real a story because it seems to treat its characters with such enormous respect and clarity of voice. I was particularly impressed as it told a story of a time in history that I am not familiar with (and yet I felt I should have been). Perhaps that revelation makes me more enraptured of the story within. I felt honored to be allowed to see such an intimate portrait of two characters who (by their society's standards) would be more naturally private in their thoughts.

I cannot recommend this book more.

[I will not reveal any more of the story than other commentators already have as I feel that the joy of the reading is in discovering what comes next.]

The book When My Name Was Keoko, by Linda Sue Park, was a good book. I read it for a 7th grade English class, and enjoyed reading it. This book is about a painful chapter in Korean history. This book takes place in Korea, in 1940, and is about a Korean family, named Kim, who have to survive in despite of Japanese discrimination during World War II. The young girl in the family, Sun-hee is ignorant and doesn't really understand everything the Japanese do, while her brother, Tae-yul, almost does. Tae-yul joins the Japanese army, and becomes a kamikaze pilot in order to show the strength of the Korean people. The rest of the family has to stay home, and fight for their equality.
I liked this book because it taught many lessons, but wasn't too much of a "school book." Most books we read about World War II talk about the war's affect on the US, but this book shows the war from a whole other perspective. The story kept me reading, but I have read better books. The most enjoyable part of this book was the fact that, every chapter, it switched from Sun-hee's point of view too Tae-yul's point of view. This made the book more interesting because you would read about things from both people's point of view. Reading a book like this allowed me to have a deeper understanding of some themes, problems, and lessons, such as fighting against discrimination. I liked the way Linda Sue Park was extremely descriptive, because it allowed me to see the characters, and feel the hardships of the Kim family. For example, even on the first page, one of the main character's personalities is shown. "I wasn't supposed to listen to men's business, but I couldn't help it...the longer I stayed in the room, the more I heard." This shows the character Sun-hee, and the ways she wanted to know information. I highly recommend this book to young adult readers because it is truthful, teaches lessons, and is a good read.

In 1940, by Japanese decree, Kim Sun-hee became known as Kaneyama Keoko. It was more than just the "Japanization" of her Korean name by changing the pronunciation. It was an attempt to wipe out her identity as a Korean, by forcing her to have a new Japanese name written with different kanji (Chinese characters).

Linda Sue Park's When My Name Was Keoko tells the historical fiction tale of the Kim family from 1940 to 1945 during the final years of Korea's occupation by Japan. Told in the fist person and alternating between 10-year-old daughter, Sun-hee, and 13-year-old son, Tae-yul, the tale portrays the rigid roles family members play in traditional Korean culture based on sex and birth order. Park uses the Korean terms of address such as Hynungnim (older brother used by younger brother) and Opah (older brother used by younger sister) throughout the story to help readers feel the "rank, respect, and affection" in a Korean family.

A major theme in When My Name Was Keoko is identity. What makes a person who they are? The characters delve into what makes them Korean. Like many imperial powers, the Japanese tried to wipe out the Korean culture without offering the people equality in return. In school, the children heard only of the perfect Emperor and superior Japan. The Japanese passed laws that repeatedly and cumulatively took away parts of the Korean people's identity. The Japanese controlled the education system and taught classes in that language. People were forbidden to speak Korean outside the home. The Japanese forced Koreans to register themselves with new Japanese names. The laws that the Japanese imposed on the Korean people and the taxes extracted grew steadily harsher. The Japanese even ordered the people to destroy all Rose of Sharon trees because it is a symbol of Korea; instead, they forced Koreans to plant cherry trees, a symbol of Japan.

When My Name Was Keoko is a well-crafted book that should keep readers turning the pages to find out what happens to Sun-hee and Tae-yul. Letters and diary entries are also used effectively to add realism to the story, which deals with ordinary children living in a terrifying and difficult time. At the end of the war, Korea became an independent nation again and Sun-hee was no longer known as Keoko. While there are many stories for American young adults about World War II, few of them take place in Asia. Even less discuss the Japanese occupation of Korea or other Asian countries like China and Taiwan. The spirit of the Koreans was not broken and they are still a proud people today. Karen Woodworth Roman

The book When My Name Was Keoko, by Linda Sue Park is a very fun way to learn about Korean history. The book was very interesting and had me reading it every chance I got. The story switched between two people, Sun-hee and Tae-yul, as they told the reader about the Japans occupation of Korea. Tea-yul goes to Japan to become a Kamikaze pilot and tells the story of the military. Sun-hee stays home and tells what is going on in Korea. It is very interesting to see the story from two different points of view. From Sun-hee's view, the Japanese aren't all that bad. They are just a group of people taking over Korea. She enjoys the Japanese culture and accepts what they tell her to do. Tae-yul on the other had has his uncle, a Korean resistance force leader, as his role model and hates the Japanese. He joins the army so that his uncle would not be found and even when he is in the army, he makes a plan so that he could sink the Japanese plane he is flying and not hurt the Americans who were going to save Korea.

I enjoyed this story because it kept me interested the whole time. It never gave away what was going to happen in the end and taught me very much about Korean history. I had never thought that Korean history was very interesting but after I read this book, I wanted to read more. Before this book, I had always wanted to know why people would want to be a Kamikaze pilot or how it would fell to be occupied by another country and after reading this book, it tells in detail how both of those things happened.

When My Name Was Keoko was a very good book about the Japanese occupation. I recommend that everybody read it.

This book was so amazing to me. It is unimaginable to lose your identity, culture, and even your own name. I like this novel because it had enough action in the plot to encourage me to continue reading, but still had enough factual information for me to learn some interesting Korean history. I have learned alot about the plight of the Koreans at this time in school, but it was so much better for me to see it through the eyes of Sun-hee, a young girl living amidst the fear and sadness of opression by the Japanese, who were occupying Korea at the time. Also, after learning about World War II Japanese kamikaze pilots, I had always wondered what could possibly drive them to do sacirifice their lives. Seeing the situation through the eyes of a boy who was actually a kamikaze pilot opened my eyes to what goes through their minds about honor and sacrifice. One of the best parts of this novel was the format that Linda Sue Park used. Alternating chapters told by Tae-yul and Sun-hee allowed me to see the story through the eyes of a young man and those of a small girl. They had totally different struggles and ways of viewing them, which was interesting and kept my attention. I highly recommend this book to readers of all ages looking for an interesting and historical novel.

This is a book about a Korean family in lower middle 20th century, when Japanese invaded Korea from 1909 to 1945 of August 15. Japanese took over Korea and they transformed korea to a colony of their's. This girl Sun-Hee was commanded to change her name because Japanese made a law to prohibit the usage of Korean. Now her name became Keoko. I nomminated this book since this book drew out the reallistic timeline of Korean culture and its history.This book won the rebecca caudill book award by the newbery award winning author, Linda Sue Park. Linda Sue Park is now on her zenith in her young adult author life.

In "When My Name Was Keoko" Linda Sue Park introduces her readers to a painful part Korean history. Set during the Japanese occupation of Korea, the book deals with the struggles of the Korean people to maintain their identity and cultural heritage while the Japanese were fighting to erase all that was uniquely Korean. The story centers on the relationship between sister and brother pair- Sun-hee and Tae-yul- and their contrasting approaches to dealing with the incredible hardships of the occupation. It includes many themes worth mentioning- strength, cultural pride, sacrifice, perseverance, family ties, respect, etc.

As a library media specialist (in training), I highly recommend this book for upper elementary grade to young adult readers. It has a thought-provoking way of presenting values and lessons without coming across as preachy. The book also exposes young readers to an often undermined historical event and to a cultural group with which very few Americans are familiar.

I read this book with my daughter's book club (4th graders) and I think I enjoyed it even more than the kids did. Because it was written for young adults, the writing style is simple and accessible, but the story and, in particular, the history that is set forth in this book is certainly worth reading. Americans don't learn enough about other culture. This is a great opportunity to learn about WWII through the perspective of a young Korean girl, living in Japanese-occupied Korea. I highly recommend this book.

After I had read the Newbery winner award book, A Single Shard, I just had to read another book by Linda Sue Park! When I went to the library I picked up this book and from the first page to the last, I enjoyed every moment of it! I hadn't known much about the Korean and Japanese war, and this book truly informed me. It taught me more about the Korean culture and also gave me a new favorite author!