Pachinko

Pachinko

by

Min Jin Lee

Kim Changho Character Analysis

Changho is an employee of Hansu, a pleasant-looking, polite young Korean man with poor eyesight. On Hansu’s orders, he gives Sunja and Kyunghee a job cooking side dishes in the restaurant he manages. He lives with Sunja’s family in the countryside during the final years of the war. Upon returning to Osaka, he has the “filthy” job of collecting extortion fees from merchants for the yakuza. Changho is in love with Kyunghee, and though Yoseb encourages them to marry after his death, Kyunghee declines his offer. Changho then goes to North Korea and, after a few letters, isn’t heard from again.

Kim Changho Quotes in Pachinko

The Pachinko quotes below are all either spoken by Kim Changho or refer to Kim Changho. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Survival and Family Theme Icon
).
Book 2, Chapter 9 Quotes

“I’m a businessman. And I want you to be a businessman. And whenever you go to these meetings, I want you to think for yourself, and I want you to think about promoting your own interests no matter what. All these people—both the Japanese and the Koreans […] keep thinking about the group. But here’s the truth: There’s no such thing as a benevolent leader. I protect you because you work for me. If you act like a fool and go against my interests, then I can’t protect you. […] You lived with that farmer Tamaguchi who sold sweet potatoes for obscene prices to starving Japanese during a time of war. He violated wartime regulations, and I helped him, because he wanted money and I do, too. He probably thinks he’s a decent, respectable Japanese, or some kind of proud nationalist—don’t they all? He’s a terrible Japanese, but a smart businessman. I’m not a good Korean, and I’m not a Japanese. […] So I’m not going to tell you not to go to any meetings or not to join any group. But know this: Those communists don’t care about you. They don’t care about anybody. You’re crazy if you think they care about Korea.”

Related Characters: Koh Hansu (speaker), Kim Changho
Page Number: 229
Explanation and Analysis:
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Kim Changho Quotes in Pachinko

The Pachinko quotes below are all either spoken by Kim Changho or refer to Kim Changho. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Survival and Family Theme Icon
).
Book 2, Chapter 9 Quotes

“I’m a businessman. And I want you to be a businessman. And whenever you go to these meetings, I want you to think for yourself, and I want you to think about promoting your own interests no matter what. All these people—both the Japanese and the Koreans […] keep thinking about the group. But here’s the truth: There’s no such thing as a benevolent leader. I protect you because you work for me. If you act like a fool and go against my interests, then I can’t protect you. […] You lived with that farmer Tamaguchi who sold sweet potatoes for obscene prices to starving Japanese during a time of war. He violated wartime regulations, and I helped him, because he wanted money and I do, too. He probably thinks he’s a decent, respectable Japanese, or some kind of proud nationalist—don’t they all? He’s a terrible Japanese, but a smart businessman. I’m not a good Korean, and I’m not a Japanese. […] So I’m not going to tell you not to go to any meetings or not to join any group. But know this: Those communists don’t care about you. They don’t care about anybody. You’re crazy if you think they care about Korea.”

Related Characters: Koh Hansu (speaker), Kim Changho
Page Number: 229
Explanation and Analysis: