When My Name Was Keoko

[Lucelia]

Personal responses: This book is based during World War 2 when Japan conquered Korea and forced Korean people to assimilate to their culture. They were prisoners that couldn’t speak their language or share their customs with their children and family members. Koreans were even forced to change their names to Japenese names or face the consequence of being jailed. It was a story of a family that lived through the conquering and how they had to assimilate and were losing their own culture and customs.

Classroom applications: This book can be used for reading as a whole class in high school to learn more about World War 2 from a historic perspective of what Korean people went through after they were conquered by Japan.

[Melissa]

Lucelia wrote: "Personal responses: This book is based during World War 2 when Japan conquered Korea and forced Korean people to assimilate to their culture. They were prisoners that couldn’t speak their language ..."

I enjoyed reading When My Name Was Keoko by Linda Sue Park. I can't remember learning about Japan's occupation of Korea in any history class either in high school or college. I feel the novel educated me, not only about the significance of the time period in relation to future events (the division of N. and S. Korea) but also about the family dynamics experienced by Koreans in the 1940s,
I can see several classroom applications for this novel. I think the subject of personal and cultural identity would be a topic with current applications to explore in class. Many immigrants who passed through Ellis Island changed their names. But to be ordered to change your name by a foreign invader to erase your culture is a very different experience. I would use this novel for a project in upper grades. I think students would find it impactful.