Finding Hope in Bleak Situations

Finding Hope in Bleak Situations

Recently, I finished reading Year of Impossible Goodbyes, written by Sook Nyul Choi. This book is written in the perspective of Sookan, a young Korean girl living in Japanese Korea, a time when Korea was under Japanese rule. This historical fiction novel tells the story of her and her family, how their lives were during this time, as well as after, when Japanese surrendered to the allied forces and Russia took over the northern part of the country. All throughout the book, despite the terrible circumstances Sookan and her family are in, they are always hopeful that this will be over, and persevere through the end.

The beginning of the book starts when Korea was under the rule of the Japanese. Although they were all forced to work in some way, some in factories or in Japanese labor camps, they always found time to spend together as a family, and to do things that they enjoyed. During this time, there are multiple times when they say that they have hope that when WWII ends, they will be free to celebrate their own culture. There is even a moment when Sookan’s grandfather says, “Harmony will prevail. After darkness, there will be light. The light cannot come without the darkness. Better days are bound to come now.” They are clearly optimistic about the future, despite being in a horrible situation.

The rest of the book further supports this theme of always having hope for the future. Around the middle of the book, the Japanese surrender, and their family rejoices thinking that they are finally free. A bit later, they realize that the country is being taken control of again, by Russia. Again, Sookan and her family are forced to work under horrible conditions to build what the communists insist will be a paradise. At this point, they have been through it all, yet they still have hope. Throughout the middle and end sections of the book, they constantly talk about how they believe things will get better for them. Eventually, they manage to escape the northern, Russia controlled part of Korea to the American-controlled South Korea.

This book shows how even in the midst of bad circumstances, there is always hope for the future. Even if things seem bad, they can get better. Although this book is a bit on the shorter side, it was an interesting read, and an incredible book. I would recommend this book to anyone who has any interest in reading, as it is worth your while.