The Dreams of Two Yi-min

by Margaret K. Pai

Few personal accounts have been written about early Korean immigrants (yi-min) to Hawaii. In The Dreams of Two Yi-min Margaret Pai recounts the experiences of her parents, Do In Kwon and Hee Kyung Lee, while unfolding the rich fabric of Korean society and culture in Japanese-occupied Korea and Hawaii’s Korean immigrant community during the early years of this century.

Pai tells her mother’s arrival in Honolulu as a “picture bride” and of her return to Korea and subsequent imprisonment by the Japanese for her participation in the demonstration of March 1, 1919. Pai also tells the story of her father―a man deemed odd, intelligent, and even crazy by friends and competitors alike― and of his passion for inventing and talent for business.

The Dreams of Two Yi-min is an honest and affectionate portrait of two courageous and strong-willed people. It is the story of the search for a good life, a search that forms a part of the larger history of the Korean experience in Hawaii.

216 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Margaret K. Pai (1912–1995) was a Korean-American writer known for her works on Korean immigrant experiences in Hawaii. She authored The Dreams of Two Yi-Min (1989), a novel that explores the struggles and aspirations of Korean immigrants in early 20th-century Hawaii. Pai's writing was deeply influenced by her own heritage and the experiences of her family and community. Her work remains an important contribution to Asian American and immigrant literature.

Reviews

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book where I was exposed to the early Korean-American experience in the 1920s. I’ve read and learned about the Japanese-American experience growing up, with the internal camps due to WW2 and Pearl Harbor, but never the Korean experience. Since I’m a first generation Korean-American, this story felt very personal to me.