Having read through “Pachinko”  both in English and Korean version a few days

ago, I thought it was very timely for Dr. Ohn to introduce the story of 서재필,

민비, 개화파 & “Pachinko”, back to back.

Both stories, covering the similar period in history, are mesmerizing to us, Korean

Americans and  thought-provoking  especially  to me, whom I consider a

diaspora or a transnationalist at this juncture in my life.

History had failed 서재필, 민비, 대원군, 고종, 김옥균, 안창호---.They might have

had some idea of modernization or independence with help from a western

country, probably(99% sure)  there  was  not a single Korean who could speak

English or German until well into the 20^th  century.  Any important

communication with westerners was done through Japanese or Chinese

double translators, who obviously loyal to their own countries.

Any idea or sudden attempt for modernization by few Koreans, products of 500+

years' closed society, doomed to fail during those worst of times, the era of 

"imperialism". History failed them.

For us now, although the USA might be much better than  Japan, our situation might

not be too much different.  Who could say for sure “history did not fail us!”?

In the 1960’s and even now, to be a physician from SNU-Med. School is a

respectable calling in  Korean  Society and yet we chose, had to choose to come

to the US as immigrants,  for whatever the reasons had been.  As I look around,  I

see in all of us, some of “Ko Han Su”, "Noa”  “Mozasu”  “Solomon” and  

"SunJa"s in our wives, sisters, and  daughters.

Although economically,  intellectually, we are in  much better shape  than

Zainichies in Japan, we should not forget recent Korean immigrants to

the US tend to be blue color workers, and there are 160,000-200,000 undocumented

Korean  Americans. At this moment, there might be some Korean youngsters,

cramped in a small one-bedroom apartment somewhere in K-town, LA looking for

odd-jobs , worrying about deportation. One of them might be "서재필" or "안창호".

History might fail us, Korean Americans(look what Trump is doing) too, 

until the day when this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its

creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal. (M.L. King,1963), until the day Korea becomes a true, morally modernized democratic society and until the day all our great grand children assimilate into American society.

Throughout this long story telling, "Pachinko", written with extraordinary literary

flair, Ms. Min Jin Lee, a frustrated Korean American lawyer, elegantly  impeached

"the history" for us, average ethnic Koreans all over the world.

               Again  from my old posting here