"For people like us, home doesn't exist" : Identity, Belonging, and the Korean Diaspora in Min Jin Lee's Pachinko (2017)
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In this thesis, I employ postcolonial literary criticism to examine identity construction and sense of belonging in a diasporic context in Min Jin Lee’s novel Pachinko (2017). Through textual analysis, I compare how different generations of the Korean diaspora in Japan reconstruct, negotiate, and perform their identity in relation to their cultural heritage that meets the colonizer’s society and discrimination.
Postcolonial literary criticism offers methods for literary scholars to deconstruct and challenge discriminatory power structures found in postcolonial literature that brings marginalized voices to the forefront. I base my analysis on prominent postcolonial concepts, such as Homi K. Bhabha’s theories on hybridity and mimicry that allow for a deeper understanding of the liminality and in-betweenness of diasporic identities. Additionally, I support my interpretations by discussing sources on the Zainichi community by scholars such as Sonia Ryang, John Lie, and David Chapman.
In my analysis, I examine three characters, the first-generation immigrant Sunja and the second-generation immigrants Noa and Mozasu, who respond differently to the oppression they face based on their nationality. I investigate the characters from three aspects of identity that arise prominently from the novel: name and language, appearance, and culinary culture. I suggest that the characters perform and (re)negotiate these attributes of identity in a way that powerfully highlights the heterogeneous diasporic experience of underrepresented groups. Thus, I conclude that there is a clear difference in identity formation between diasporic generations although they share the same issue of location of homeland and existence in between cultures.