Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood

Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood

• Genre: Fiction; historical; fictionalized memoir
• Originally Published: 1970
• Reading Level/Interest: Grades 10-12; college/adult
• Structure/Length: Preface, 7 interrelated chapters (“Scenes”), and author’s note; approximately 196 pages
• Central Concern: This fictionalized memoir is set during the tumultuous period of Japanese occupation in Korea. Richard E. Kim recounts his experiences as a young boy, offering a glimpse into the struggles and resilience of ordinary Korean people under colonial rule. The narrative explores the loss of identity, culture, and freedom faced by Koreans during this era; their quiet acts of defiance and preservation of dignity amidst oppression. “Lost Names” reflects the enforced Japanese naming policy, symbolizing the broader cultural and personal erosion experienced by the colonized people.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Depictions of colonial oppression, cultural erasure, and hardships experienced by Koreans under Japanese occupation; discussions of identity loss and the psychological impact of colonization; violence, including assault

Richard E. Kim, Author

• Bio: Born 1932 in Hamhung, Korea; Korean American writer; known for exploring themes of identity, displacement, and the Korean experience, particularly during times of political upheaval
• Other Works: The Martyred (1964)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Guide:

• Han and the Trap of Self-Pity
• The Remembrance of Things Lost
• Hubris of the Colonizer

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Teaching Guide, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the historical and political contexts regarding the growth of imperialist Japan during the early-to-mid 20th century, which impacts Kim’s narration as a young Christian Korean boy living in Japanese-occupied Korea.
• Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of Han and the Trap of Self-Pity, The Remembrance of Things Lost, and Hubris of the Colonizer.
• Research and present an overview of a colonizer-colonized situation in history or modern times and point out parallels to the ways in which Japan controlled Korea, based on text details.