Osaka, Japan vs Busan, Korea

 In the first setting of the small fishing village of Yeongdo near Busan, Korea, Sunja was born. The area was extremely poor due to corrupt rulers and Japanese thieves after Japan annexed Korea. Because of how poor they were, Yangjin is forced to open a boarding school, which Sunja helps out with. The fishing aspect of the village is why Sunja meets Hansu, a fish broker, and eventually becomes pregnant with his child. The village is also where Sunja meets Isak, Sunja’s husband. Sunja grew up in the village until she got married. In Yeongdo, Sunja was given some freedom and was able to express herself and did not truly recognize the discrimination that Koreans faced. She was able to depend on her mother and her community and was treated with kindness and respected.


Then, she moved to Osaka, Japan with Isak to live with Isak’s brother, Yoseb, and Isak’s brother’s wife, Kyunghee. In Osaka, Koreans were treated poorly and discriminated against by the Japanese, and Koreans could not even trust other Koreans sometimes. The Koreans mostly lived in a small ghetto, which was an extremely poor area. Sunja began to truly recognize this poverty and discrimination that the Koreans faced. She also realized she lost her community. As a Korean, she was not respected by her community and the environment was pretty competitive and lonely. She began to learn and adapt though, eventually even trying to start her own business and relying on herself more often instead of other people.


Comments

  1. Eloise DanielloFebruary 26, 2023 at 11:17 PM

    Hi Paulos! This is a really good analysis of the difference in both of these cities. I like how you provided contextual reasoning to why there is this difference. It is really clear to see how contrasting Sunja's lives are compared to her Korean life versus her Japanese lifestyle. It is sad to me how much worse conditions are for her in Japan. I would like to do some research on the exact reason why Koreans were so discriminated against in Japan.

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