White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton

 

Recently we went on a cruise that visited both Japan and Korea. I already had this book on my TBR list but I decided to move it up the list because it was set both of the countries we were visiting, and I was very glad that I did.

White Mulberry tells the story of Miyoung who is a young girl who lives in a village near Pyongyang in Korea. Both of her sisters have gone abroad to marry leaving Miyoung at home with her ailing mother. Miyoung is very clever and dreams of becoming a teacher, but her mother knows that there are limited opportunities for her in Japanese occupied Korea. She is therefore sent to Japan to live with her sister to continue her education.

It soon becomes clear that Japan is not going to be any easier than Korea was. Koreans live segregated lives, working only the lowest of job and are discriminated against consistently. The only way to get ahead is to pretend to be Japanese, so Miyoung becomes Miyoko and trains to become a nurse. 

Eventually Miyoko starts attending a clandestine Korean Christian church and there meets a young man who is fighting for better rights for Korean immigrants. This makes her life even more complicated. She is a Korean pretending to be Japanese but in love with a Korean man and she is Christian at a time where this is frowned upon by the Japanese authorities. It doesn't help that when she marries her husband's family is difficult as well.

As World War II rages, Miyoungknows that her only hope is to get back to Korea, but also that will be difficult to say the least. What will it cost her in terms of her family and her life? And who will be left in Korea to help support her re-establishing her life there?

It was interesting to read about the differences between these two cultures and how someone who is trying to navigate these different worlds. I enjoyed the food talk, and I really liked the relationship between Miyoung and her sister, Bohbeh, who faced her own challenges and yet supported Miyoung when she needed her the most.

One of the reasons I read historical fiction is that you can learn so much. I had no idea that Korea was occupied by Japan as far back as the 1910s. I did know that they invaded Manchuria in the years leading up to WWII but not Korea! While I was in Japan I learned some things about the post war years that really surprised me. For example, did you know that the US controlled the Japanese island of Okinawa and only gave it back to Japanese control in 1972? They still have a significant say in the decisions of the island because of the military bases on the island. 

This story is made all the more interesting in that it is based on the author's own family history. It seems that there are quite a few WWII stories now that are based on true stories like this. I am sure that there are a lot more interesting stories out there still!

I am sharing this review with the Historical Fiction Reading challenge which I host here.

Rating 4/5