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Chapter 51
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Girl with Seven Names, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Oppression, Human Rights, and North Korea
Identity and Nationality
Family
Kindness
Summary
Analysis
In September of 2010, Hyeonseo is accepted to Hankuk University. Min-ho has his own apartment and a job at a construction company, and Mother works as a maid in a hotel. There are 27,000 North Koreans living in the South, and for those who had a rough life in North Korea, the adjustment is easy. However, for people of high songbun, like Mother, the adjustment period isn’t so easy. She misses Aunt Pretty and her other siblings badly, and one day, she tells Hyeonseo that she wants to go back. She knows she will die one day soon, and she wants to die in North Korea. Luckily, Hyeonseo is able to talk her out of it, but she knows her mother’s life in South Korea will never be easy.
Mother’s desire to die in North Korea reflects the deep connection she feels to her family and her homeland. For Mother, like Hyeonseo, her North Korean heritage is a core part of her identity, and it can’t be denied. Mother’s difficulty adjusting to a menial job and her rather poor existence in South Korea reflects the privilege her high songbun afforded her in North Korea. Working as a maid is beneath Mother’s status, and it makes her life in South Korea feel exceedingly difficult.
Themes
One day, Min-ho calls Hyeonseo from the banks of the Yalu River in Changbai. He is going back, Min-ho says. He doesn’t know how to live in South Korea. At least in North Korea, he knows how to live and make money. Hyeonseo begs him to stay. He will surely be killed if he returns, but he is adamant. Hyeonseo suggests they all move to America and get out of Korea entirely. They are free now, and they can go wherever they want. Min-ho agrees with reluctance to come back to Seoul, but Hyeonseo knows Min-ho will never be happy either.
Like Mother and Hyeonseo, Min-ho, too, feels a deep connection to his North Korean heritage, which is also part of his core identity. This reflects the importance of nationality on one’s identity and makes his life as an exile very difficult. Min-ho also has a tough time living and working a menial job. Like Mother, he is used to the privilege of their high songbun.
Themes
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