Pachinko

Pachinko

by

Min Jin Lee

Koh Hansu Character Analysis

Hansu is a native of the Korean island of Jeju but lives in Osaka, Japan. A fish broker with ties to the yakuza, the organized crime syndicate in Japan, Hansu is rumored to be “unimaginably rich,” and everyone calls him “Boss.” Hansu, who is 34 at the beginning of the novel, notices 16-year-old Sunja in the Busan market and rescues her from a group of Japanese boys who are sexually harassing her. He begins meeting with her in secret whenever he’s in Korea, and after he finds out she’s pregnant with his son, Noa, he offers to set up her and Yangjin in a nice house so they no longer have to work. But when Sunja hears about Hansu’s existing family in Osaka, she refuses his offer. However, Hansu remains an ongoing presence in Sunja’s life, keeping tabs on her after she moves to Japan and quietly intervening when she needs help—such as arranging a job for her in Kim Changho’s restaurant, enabling the family to flee to the countryside during the American bombing, and financing Noa’s university education. Noa doesn’t find out that Hansu is his father until he is an adult, at which point he cuts ties with his entire family and eventually kills himself, believing he can’t be cleansed of his “yakuza” blood. Though Hansu has ongoing feelings for Sunja, he mostly uses people for his own purposes, and he also has a violent side, unfeelingly beating a mistress, Noriko, nearly to death at one point. He and Sunja last see one another at Yangjin’s funeral; now a widower, he suggests marriage, which Sunja refuses.

Koh Hansu Quotes in Pachinko

The Pachinko quotes below are all either spoken by Koh Hansu or refer to Koh Hansu. 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 6 Quotes

“How did I know that you needed work? How did I know where Noa goes to school, that his math teacher is a Korean who pretends to be Japanese, that your husband died because he didn’t get out of prison in time, and that you’re alone in this world. How did I know how to keep my family safe? It’s my job to know what others don’t. How did you know to make kimchi and sell it on a street corner to earn money? You knew because you wanted to live. I want to live, too, and if I want to live, I have to know things others don’t. Now, I’m telling you something valuable. I’m telling you something so you can save your sons’ lives. Don’t waste this information. The world can go to hell, but you need to protect your sons.”

Related Characters: Koh Hansu (speaker), Sunja Baek, Baek Isak, Noa Baek
Page Number: 199
Explanation and Analysis:
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:
Book 2, Chapter 18 Quotes

Hansu did not believe in nationalism, religion, or even love, but he trusted in education. Above all, he believed that a man must learn constantly. […] It thrilled him that Noa could read and write English so beautifully—a language he knew was essential in the world. Noa had recommended books to him, and Hansu had read them, because he wanted to know the things his son knew.

The young man’s extraordinary scholarship was something Hansu knew he had to nurture. Hansu was not sure what he wanted Noa to do when he graduated; he was careful not to say too much, because it was clear that Noa had some of his own ideas. Hansu wanted to back him, the way he wanted to back good business plans.

Related Characters: Koh Hansu, Noa Baek
Page Number: 303
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 2, Chapter 19 Quotes

“Yakuza are the filthiest people in Japan. They are thugs; they are common criminals. They frighten shopkeepers; they sell drugs; they control prostitution; and they hurt innocent people. All the worst Koreans are members of these gangs. I took money for my education from a yakuza, and you thought this was acceptable? I will never be able to wash this dirt from my name. You can’t be very bright,” he said. “How can you make something clean from something dirty? And now, you have made me dirty,” Noa said quietly, as if he was learning this as he was saying it to her. “All my life, I have had Japanese telling me that my blood is Korean— that Koreans are angry, violent, cunning, and deceitful criminals. All my life, I had to endure this. I tried to be as honest and humble as Baek Isak was; I never raised my voice. But this blood, my blood is Korean, and now I learn that my blood is yakuza blood. I can never change this, no matter what I do. It would have been better if I were never born. How could you have ruined my life? How could you be so imprudent? A foolish mother and a criminal father. I am cursed.”

Related Characters: Noa Baek (speaker), Sunja Baek, Koh Hansu, Baek Isak
Page Number: 311
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 3, Chapter 4 Quotes

He believed that she’d been foolish for refusing to be his wife in Korea. What did it matter that he had a marriage in Japan? He would have taken excellent care of her and Noa. They would have had other children. She would never have had to work in an open market or in a restaurant kitchen. Nevertheless, he had to admire her for not taking his money the way any young girl did these days. In Tokyo, it was possible for a man to buy a girl for a bottle of French perfume or a pair of shoes from Italy.

Related Characters: Sunja Baek, Koh Hansu
Page Number: 351
Explanation and Analysis:
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Koh Hansu Quotes in Pachinko

The Pachinko quotes below are all either spoken by Koh Hansu or refer to Koh Hansu. 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 6 Quotes

“How did I know that you needed work? How did I know where Noa goes to school, that his math teacher is a Korean who pretends to be Japanese, that your husband died because he didn’t get out of prison in time, and that you’re alone in this world. How did I know how to keep my family safe? It’s my job to know what others don’t. How did you know to make kimchi and sell it on a street corner to earn money? You knew because you wanted to live. I want to live, too, and if I want to live, I have to know things others don’t. Now, I’m telling you something valuable. I’m telling you something so you can save your sons’ lives. Don’t waste this information. The world can go to hell, but you need to protect your sons.”

Related Characters: Koh Hansu (speaker), Sunja Baek, Baek Isak, Noa Baek
Page Number: 199
Explanation and Analysis:
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:
Book 2, Chapter 18 Quotes

Hansu did not believe in nationalism, religion, or even love, but he trusted in education. Above all, he believed that a man must learn constantly. […] It thrilled him that Noa could read and write English so beautifully—a language he knew was essential in the world. Noa had recommended books to him, and Hansu had read them, because he wanted to know the things his son knew.

The young man’s extraordinary scholarship was something Hansu knew he had to nurture. Hansu was not sure what he wanted Noa to do when he graduated; he was careful not to say too much, because it was clear that Noa had some of his own ideas. Hansu wanted to back him, the way he wanted to back good business plans.

Related Characters: Koh Hansu, Noa Baek
Page Number: 303
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 2, Chapter 19 Quotes

“Yakuza are the filthiest people in Japan. They are thugs; they are common criminals. They frighten shopkeepers; they sell drugs; they control prostitution; and they hurt innocent people. All the worst Koreans are members of these gangs. I took money for my education from a yakuza, and you thought this was acceptable? I will never be able to wash this dirt from my name. You can’t be very bright,” he said. “How can you make something clean from something dirty? And now, you have made me dirty,” Noa said quietly, as if he was learning this as he was saying it to her. “All my life, I have had Japanese telling me that my blood is Korean— that Koreans are angry, violent, cunning, and deceitful criminals. All my life, I had to endure this. I tried to be as honest and humble as Baek Isak was; I never raised my voice. But this blood, my blood is Korean, and now I learn that my blood is yakuza blood. I can never change this, no matter what I do. It would have been better if I were never born. How could you have ruined my life? How could you be so imprudent? A foolish mother and a criminal father. I am cursed.”

Related Characters: Noa Baek (speaker), Sunja Baek, Koh Hansu, Baek Isak
Page Number: 311
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 3, Chapter 4 Quotes

He believed that she’d been foolish for refusing to be his wife in Korea. What did it matter that he had a marriage in Japan? He would have taken excellent care of her and Noa. They would have had other children. She would never have had to work in an open market or in a restaurant kitchen. Nevertheless, he had to admire her for not taking his money the way any young girl did these days. In Tokyo, it was possible for a man to buy a girl for a bottle of French perfume or a pair of shoes from Italy.

Related Characters: Sunja Baek, Koh Hansu
Page Number: 351
Explanation and Analysis: