21 October 2021 FINDING JUNIE KIM by Ellen Oh, HarperCollins, May 2021, 368p., ISBN: 978-0-06-298798-3

“Through early morning fog I see

Visions of the things to be

The pains that are withheld for me

I realize and I can see

That suicide is painless

It brings on many changes

And I can take or leave it if I please”

– Johnny Mandel, the theme from M*A*S*H, the movie/TV show featuring an American medical military unit, set amidst the Korean War

“President Trump’s first use of the phrase ‘Kung Flu’--during a campaign rally in Tulsa–drew broad political backlash as a racist slur against Asian Americans.

Within three days, however, it was also something else: a rallying cry for his supporters…

‘The fact that he got the crowd so riled up was just chilling,’ said Chris Lu, a Chinese American who served as a cabinet secretary in the Obama White House. ‘In that really primal desire to get a rise out of the crowd and get that affirmation he wants, he went to this place that has such bad consequences for Asian Americans broadly and for Asian American kids in particular. It’s a joke to him but not to us.’”

– Washington Post, “With ‘kung flu,’ Trump sparks backlash over racist language – and a rallying cry for supporters” (6/24/2020)

“‘How did you deal with all of it?’

‘All of what?’

‘The racism.’ I wipe the tears away from my eyes. ‘How come it didn’t get to you? Weren’t you depressed? Didn’t it make you want to just run away and never have to deal with it?’

Grandpa gets up and comes over to hug me. The video is still running on his empty chair, but I can’t be bothered to turn it off. I let myself cry in my grandfather’s arms. It takes me a few minutes to finally compose myself as Grandpa gently pats my back. When I’m finally cried out, he gets up to give me a box of tissues and waits as I blow my nose.

‘I’m sorry, Grandpa.’

‘No, Junie, never apologize for showing your feelings. That is not something my generation of Koreans is good at doing, but it is a beautiful thing to see how Americans can be so open and honest about how they feel.’

‘Are you talking about that Chama thing?’

Grandpa smiles and nods. ‘We Koreans have learned to hold in so much suffering. But we also have the ability to love deeply. This country has been so difficult and yet I love it very much. I still believe in the American dream. Your grandmother and I came with very little money, and now we are comfortable in our old age. This country has been very hard on us, and yet it has been very good to us also. For every terrible racist we have had to deal with, there have been many more wonderful people who have helped us and cared for us. That is why I never regret moving here. I don’t know if we would have been better off in Korea, but I do not doubt that I gave my children a chance at a better life during a very turbulent time in our own country, and I am grateful for that opportunity.’”

Junie Kim is a contemporary Asian-American tween. She attends a middle school whose gym has now been marred with racist and anti-Semitic graffiti. One of her peers refers to her as Kim Jung Un and tells her to go back to her “own Communist country.”

In dealing with this racism, Junie comes to learn the stories of her Korean immigrant grandparents. Her grandparents were children who survived the Korean War. Their stories of bravery and resilience in the face of brutal wartime experiences are the primary focus of this powerful read.

 The Korean people were treated poorly by Japan, which annexed Korea in 1910. Then, with Japan’s defeat in WWII, the Soviet Union and the U.S. battled for control of the Korean peninsula. Both the Soviets and Americans were guilty of atrocities and duplicity. The occasional descriptions of war crimes are sufficiently horrific to lead me to recommend this notable and powerful tale for 10-14-year olds, instead of the publisher’s suggestion of 8-12s.

“War is not healthy for children and other living things.”

– popular 1960s saying/image

I hope that this stellar piece of historical fiction finds its way into the hands of tomorrow’s decision makers. I fear that online war games desensitize young people who should, instead, read this book and begin to understand what war is really about.

Richie Partington, MLIS

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