Week 9: Belonging in Pachinko

     Pachinko is a story filled with an immense amount of characters, all with different thoughts, beliefs, and desires. One commonality to all of them, however, is a desire to belong. Koreans want to fit into Japanese society. Characters like Totoyama, that struggle with their sexuality in heteronormative time period, want to belong. This is common for many of the characters for different reasons. Family also plays a large role in this- with characters like Sunja and Hansu desiring some sense of belonging in a normal family setting.

    Noa is a prime example of this desire for belonging. His name, biblically, is a reference to Noah, someone who had to shoulder the sins of humanity. Noa feels that he has to carry the burden of his family and people, and that to find a sense of belonging in society he must somehow become more Japanese. 

    Hansu also feels a sense of outsider-ness. He is successful and has more money than any other character in the story. Despite this, he cannot ever feel belonging. Korean people view him as an outsider for his involvement with the yakuza. Japanese people will never fully see him as belonging. 

    Every character struggles with identity and how it figures into society as a whole. I think one of the things the novel is saying about belonging is how futile it may be. Family is more important than any sort of societal acceptance. The multigenerational family that the novel details feels most accepted in the middle portion where they are together. When they all go there separate ways, with Noa leaving Waseda and Mozasu working his own Pachinko parlor, the family's sense of acceptance begins to diminish. Beyond societal acceptance, we must strive to maintain healthy family relationships.

Comments

  1. Monique Cov.March 10, 2023 at 11:29 AM

    Hey Jalen! I didn't see the relationship between Noa "caring the sins of humanity" until reading your post and I would completely agree. Noa tried to be successful by doing good and living an honest life while those around him, unlike Hansu who got his success from having ties with the yakuza who were considered to get their money in a dirty way, much in the same way as the rest of humanity were "bad" people thus God would bring the flood to start the world anew. In the end though, Noa didn't see himself as being an honest person making a living, but one that came from the bad of the world (Hansu) and thus his blood was stained so he seemed, in a sense to stop trying.

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  2. Catalina DegnanMarch 12, 2023 at 11:58 PM

    Hey Jalen! I like how you chose to meditate on the theme of belonging for this blog post. I honestly didn't see the connection between Noa and the biblical Noah until you commented on that. I think a strong connection can be made between Hansu and Noa based on the belonging theme. They both find a hard time fitting in, albeit with different circumstances. For Noa, it's more in a nationality sense while for Hansu, it's more of his position with the yakuza.

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  3. Andrew BautistaMarch 13, 2023 at 1:42 AM

    Hi Jalen! Maybe it's because we as the audience only really follow this Korean family, but it seems like every moment of genuine happiness has nothing to do with status or societal norms that are upheld so strongly. What people live for is always the genuine connections and family like you mentioned, and it is about navigating a world that doesn't make it easy to do so.

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  4. Griffin JonesMarch 13, 2023 at 1:54 PM

    I definitely think that looking at the connections between family, identity, and belonging is one of the main points of this novel. I definitely think that Lee seems to imply that the search for societal acceptance is futile, but I don't think that Lee is saying that belonging in general is. As you pointed out, characters have found a sense of belonging and acceptance from friends and family even when society would turn their back on them. One good example of this is Hoonie. His disfigurement might have made him undesirable to society, but he ends up living a good life because of family who loves him for his character and personality.

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  5. Paulos HabtewoldMarch 14, 2023 at 12:44 AM

    Hi Jalen, I definitely agree that belonging is a key theme throughout the novel. I also agree that the novel is saying that belonging in society is futile, and family is more important. The people we see who Korean are and hated by society are loved by their family. Totoyama loves her disabled child, and Noa and Mozasu are loved by Sunja. The novel is trying to say that society's acceptance does not matter as long as the people who are closest to you accept you.

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