Pachinko

Pachinko

by

Min Jin Lee

Yangban Term Analysis

Upper -class. Isak, Yoseb, and Kyunghee are of yangban lineage, whereas Sunja comes from a peasant family. In Pachinko, class lineage shapes attitudes about the options available to women—for example, Yoseb thinks it’s inappropriate for a yangban woman like Kyunghee to work outside the home.
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Yangban Term Timeline in Pachinko

The timeline below shows where the term Yangban appears in Pachinko. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 1, Chapter 15
Survival and Family Theme Icon
Identity, Blood, and Contamination Theme Icon
Love, Motherhood, and Women’s Choices Theme Icon
...let her work outside the home. Sunja realizes this means that, in Yoseb’s view, a yangban woman shouldn’t work, but it’s fine for a peasant girl like herself. She thinks Kyunghee,... (full context)