{"id":95,"date":"2018-05-16T00:08:27","date_gmt":"2018-05-16T04:08:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/korean-travel-narratives\/?p=95"},"modified":"2020-07-15T17:31:17","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T21:31:17","slug":"nowhere-in-this-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/korean-travel-narratives\/2018\/05\/16\/nowhere-in-this-world\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201c\uc138\uc0c1\uc5d0 \uc5c6\ub294 \ub098\uc758 \uc9d1\u201d : “My Home That Is Nowhere In This World”"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

The Physical Home as a Portal to Choson<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201c\ub2dd\ub3c4 \uac00\ub054 \ub0b4\uac8c \uadf8\ub7f0 \ub9d0\uc744 \ud558\uace4 \ud588\ub2e4\u2026\uc5b4\uca0c\ub4e0 \ub450 \ub098\ub77c \ub9d0\uc744 \ub2e4 \ud558\ub2c8 \ub10c \ucc38 \uc88b\uaca0\ub2e4<\/span>, \uace0 \ubd80\ub7ec\uc6cc\ud588\ub2e4<\/span>.\u00a0 \uadf8\ub7ec\ub098 \uadf8\ub4e4\uc774 \ubaa8\ub974\uace0 \uc788\ub294 \uac83\uc774 \ud558\ub098 \uc788\uc5c8\ub2e4<\/span>.\ub098\ub294 \ub54c\ub85c \ucc28\ub77c\ub9ac \uadf8\ub4e4\ucc98\ub7fc \ud55c\uac00\uc9c0 \ub9d0\ub9cc<\/span>\u2018\uc81c\ub300\ub85c\u2019 \ud588\uc73c\uba74 \uc88b\uaca0\ub2e4\uace0 \uc0dd\uac01\ud55c\ub2e4\ub294 \uac83<\/span>…\ub9e4\ubc88 \uadf8\ub4e4\uacfc \ub9cc\ub098\uace0 \ub3cc\uc544\uc62c \ub54c\uba74<\/span>, \ub098\ub294 \uc5b4\ub290 \ub204\uad6c\ud558\uace0\ub3c4 \uac19\uc9c0 \uc54a\uc740 \ub098 \uc790\uc2e0\uc744 \ub354 \ub610\ub837\uc774 \ub290\ub07c\uace4 \ud588\ub2e4\u2026\uc6b0\ub9ac\uac00 \ub9d0\ud558\ub294\u2018\uc774\u2019\uc640<\/span>\u2018\uc800\u2019 \uc0ac\uc774\uc5d0 \uc874\uc7ac\ud558\ub294 \ubb34\uc218\ud55c \ud68c\uc0c9\uc9c0\ub300\ub4e4<\/span>,\uadf8 \uc9c0\ub300\ub9c8\ub2e4 \uc644\uc804\ud788 \uadf8 \uc9c0\ub300\uc5d0 \uc18d\ud558\ub294 \uac83\ub4e4\uc774 \uc788\uc744 \uc218\ub3c4 \uc788\ub294 \uac83\uc774\ub2e4<\/span>. \ub450\uac1c\uc758 \uc644\uc804\uc218 \uc0ac\uc774\uc5d0 \ud655\uc2e4\ud558\uac8c \uc874\uc7ac\ud558\ub294 \ubb34\uc218\ud55c \uc18c\uc218\ub4e4 \ucc98\ub7fc<\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Ning used to say that to me sometimes. She’d say, in any case you’re so lucky you can speak both languages. \u00a0But there’s something they don’t know: that I often think that I’d like to instead speak just one language “perfectly” like they do…Every time I came back from seeing them, I sensed more clearly that I am not like anyone else…The infinite gray zones that exist between “this” and “that,” there can be those that completely belong to each of those zones. \u00a0Just as the infinite decimal numbers that most certainly exist between two integers.”<\/p>\n

19-21<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In “My Home That Is Nowhere In This World,” writer Kim Keum-hee portrays an ethnically Korean Chinese, or Chosonjok, woman living in Changchun, Jilin. \u00a0She grapples with feeling lost between identities that have seemingly rigid boundaries that both act to other her and to lead her to identify simply as an “other” and a “stranger” in all settings and interactions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Writer Kim Keum-hee; her collection, “My Home That Is Nowhere In This World”.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201c\uadf8\uac83\uc740 \uc9d1 \uc774\ub77c\uae30\ubcf4\ub2e4 \uc9d1\uc758 \ud2c0<\/span>, \uc9d1\uc758 \ubf08\ub300\ub77c\uace0 \uc544\ub294 \ud3b8\uc774 \ub354 \uc815\ud655\ud588\ub2e4<\/span>.\u00a0 \uc5ec\ub7ec \ubb38\ud654\uc758 \uc0ac\ub78c\ub4e4\uc774 \uac19\uc774 \uc5b4\uc6b8\ub824 \uc0ac\ub294 \uc774 \ub098\ub77c\uc5d0\uc11c\ub294 \uc624\ud788\ub824 \uc774\ub7f0 \uc2dd\uc758 \ubd84\uc591 \ubc95\uc774 \ub354 \uc778\uac01\uc801\uc77c \uc218\ub3c4 \uc788\uc5c8\ub2e4<\/span>. \uc785\uc8fc\uc790\uc758 \ucde8\ud5a5\ub300\ub85c \uc124\uacc4\ud558\uace0 \uc778\ud14c\ub9ac\uc5b4\ud558\uace0 \ucc44\uc6cc \ub123\uc744 \uc218 \uc788\ub294<\/span>, \uc18c\uc704 \uc911\uad6d \ub300\ub959 \uc2dd<\/span>\u2018\ubaa8\ud53c \uc9d1\u2019<\/span>.\u00a0 \ub098\ub294 \uc190\uc744 \ub0b4\ubc00\uc5b4 \uadf8 \ucc28\uac11\uace0\ub3c4 \ub531\ub531\ud55c \uc2dc\uba58\ud2b8 \ubcbd\uccb4\ub4e4\uc744 \uac00\ub9cc\ud788 \ub9cc\uc838\ubcf4\uc558\ub2e4<\/span>. \uadf8 \ubd88\ubcc0\ud558\uba74\uc11c\ub3c4 \ud655\uc2e4\ud55c<\/span>\u2018\uc6b0\ub9ac \uc9d1\u2019\uc758 \ud604\uc2e4\uc774 \ub0b4 \uc190\uac00\ub77d \ub05d\uc5d0\uc11c \uacac\uace0\ud558\uac8c \ubc84\ud2f0\uace0 \uc11c\uc788\uc5c8\ub2e4\u2026\ub0a8\ud3b8\uc740 \uc774\uacf3\uc5d0 \uc6b0\ub9ac\uac00 \ubb34\uc5c7\uc744 \ucc44\uc6cc \ub123\uc5b4\uc57c \ube44\ub85c\uc18c<\/span>\u2018\uc6b0\ub9ac \uc9d1\u2019 \ub2e4\uc6cc\uc9c8\uc9c0<\/span>, \uadf8\uac83\uc744 \uc54c\uace0\ub098 \uc788\uc744\uae4c<\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n

“It was more accurately described as the frame of a house, the skeleton of a house, rather than a house. \u00a0In this country in which people of various cultures coexist harmoniously, this style of real estate dealing might actually be more human. \u00a0 The so-called mainland Chinese-style “fur house” that the occupant can design and decorate according to their taste. \u00a0I put out my hand and gently felt the cold, hard cement walls. \u00a0That immutable, certain reality of “our home” stood firmly against my fingertips…I wondered if my husband even knew what we had to fill this place with in order for it to really become “our home”.”<\/p>\n

21<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here, the narrator begins using the physical house as a loaded image that symbolizes identity. \u00a0The narrator expresses her uncertainty about how to make her house truly \u2018hers,\u2019 reflecting the ambivalence that she expresses about her identity as a Chosonjok woman who feels neither fully Korean nor fully Chinese. \u00a0Here, the narrator\u2019s thought process in her move into a new home is similar to that of settling into one\u2019s unique identity as an individual self.\u00a0 The new house can feel a bit empty, lonely, and cold, but on the other hand, infinite in possibility and vital for the narrator\u2019s continued survival; fitting into one\u2019s own identity can be said to be quite the same, especially in the context of ethnic ambiguity.\u00a0 From the perspective of this metaphor, the story\u2019s title\u2014which gives the collection its title\u2014takes on multiple layers of meaning.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201c\uc5b4\ub290 \ub17c\ubc2d \uac00\uc6b4\ub370 \uc790\ub9ac \uc7a1\uc740 \uc790\uadf8\ub9cc \ub3d9\ub124 \ud558\ub098\ub97c \uc9c0\ub098\uce58\ub2e4\uac00 \ub098\ub3c4 \ubaa8\ub974\uac8c \ucc3d\ubb38\uc5d0 \uc5bc\uad74\uc744 \ubc14\uc9dd \ubd99\uc600\ub2e4…\uc5bc\ud54f \ub2e4\ub978 \ub3d9\ub124\ub4e4\uacfc \ube44\uc2b7\ud574 \ubcf4\uc600\uc9c0\ub9cc<\/span>, \ub098\ub294 \uadf8 \uc815\uccb4\ub97c \uae08\ubc29 \uc54c\uc544\ubcfc \uc218 \uc788\uc5c8\ub2e4<\/span>.\u00a0\ud06c\uc9c0\ub294 \uc54a\uc9c0\ub9cc \uc870\uc120 \ub3d9\ub124\uac00 \ud2c0\ub9bc \uc5c6\uc5c8\ub2e4\u2026\ub0b4\uac00 \uc54c\uc9c0 \ubabb\ud558\ub294 \uacf3\uc5d0\ub3c4 \uc870\uc120 \ub3d9\ub124\uac00 \uc788\uc5c8\ub2e4\ub294 \uc0ac\uc2e4\ubcf4\ub2e4<\/span>,\uadf8 \ub9ce\uc740 \ub3d9\ub124\ub4e4\uc744 \uc9c0\ub098\uce58\uba70 \uc720\ub3c5 \uc870\uc120 \ub3d9\ub124\ub97c \ud55c\ub208\uc5d0 \uc54c\uc544\ubcf8 \ub098 \uc790\uc2e0\uc774 \ub354 \uc2e0\uae30\ud588\ub2e4<\/span>. \u00a0\ub192\uc740 \ub2f4\uc774 \uc544\ub2cc \uc548\ud30e\uc774 \uc11c\ub85c \ubcf4\uc774\ub294 \uac1c\ubc29\uc2dd \ubc14\uc790? \uae54\ub054\ud558\uac8c \uc815\ub9ac\ub41c \ub9c8\ub2f9? \uc544\ub2c8\uba74 \uc720\ub09c\ud788 \uac00\ucbd8\ud55c \ud143\ubc2d \uc774\ub791\ub4e4\uc774\ub098 \uc0c1\ucd94\uc528 \ub530\uc704\ub97c \ubfcc\ub838\uc744 \ub0ae\uc740 \ud558\uc6b0\uc2a4 \ub54c\ubb38\uc774\uc5c8\uc744\uae4c?\u201d<\/p>\n

“As we passed by a small village nestled in the middle of some rice paddies, I found myself peering closely out of the window…At first glance, it looked similar to other villages, but I recognized it immediately. \u00a0It was not large by any measures, but it was undoubtedly a Chosonjok village…I was less curious at the fact that Choson villages existed outside of my knowledge than at my own split-second recognition specifically of a Choson village. \u00a0Was it the low walls and open style bazaars? \u00a0Neatly ordered yards? Or was it because of the particularly tidy furrows and the low-roofed house that must have lettuce seeds sown in them?”<\/p>\n

23<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The narrator experiences feelings of belonging where she does not expect to find them. \u00a0Here, two layers of identity configuring are taking place: First, she is pleasantly surprised by her discovery of a familiar-looking village that speaks to her of a kind of kinship. \u00a0Second, she is struck by her own reaction to this small echo of her ethnic roots.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201c\uc9c4\ub2ec\ub798\uc600\ub2e4\u2026\uadf8\ub54c<\/span>\u2018\uc6b0\ub9ac \uc9d1 \uc778\ud14c\ub9ac\uc5b4 \ucf58\uc149\ud2b8\uc758 \uc5b4\ub5a4 \uc2e4\ub9c8\ub9ac\uac00 \ub0b4 \uba38\ub9bf\uc18d\uc5d0\uc11c \ud53c\ub057 \ub5a0\uc624\ub974\ub294 \uac83 \uac19\uc558\ub2e4\u2026\ubd93\uc73c\ub85c \ucc0d\uc5b4\ub193\uc740 \ub4ef\ud55c \uc9c4\ub2ec\ub798 \uc232\uc18d\uc73c\ub85c \ub2e8\uc6d0 \uae40\ud64d\ub3c4\uc758 \uadf8\ub9bc \uac19\uc740 \uc2dc\uace8\ub9c8\uc744 \uc9d1\ub4e4\uc774 \uc5b8\ub73b\uc5b8\ub73b \uc9c0\ub098\uac00\uace0 \uc788\uc5c8\ub2e4<\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n

“It was Korean rhododendron…at that moment a flash of interior design concept for our home glanced across my mind… Picturesque huts glimpsed out from between a rhododendron forest that looked like it had been painted by Kim Hong-Do.”<\/p>\n

25<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Again, this and the previous excerpt from the narrator’s train ride can be read as depictions of the concept of the physical home as a representation of identity. \u00a0\u00a0The physical home is a setting in which some of the strongest cultural associations are developed, and the narrator\u2019s conception of her ideal home is that in which she has probably never existed, but that is embedded in the inherited memory of Korean ethnic identity. \u00a0It is clear to the reader that the narrator struggles to determine exactly in what way she identifies with this Korean identity. \u00a0Despite this ambivalent relationship with her Korean heritage, she basks in brief but warm glimmers of fellow feeling throughout this story. The moments in which the narrator describes Choson style homes and villages are always fleeting, vivid, and dream-like. \u00a0This could be due to that fact that her connection to her “Korean-ness” is through slivers and flashes of\u00a0learned and inherited ethnic memory.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“\uadf8\ub798\ub3c4 \uad73\uc774 \ub098\uc758 \ucf58\uc149\ud2b8\ub791 \uac00\uc7a5 \uac00\uae4c\uc6b4 \uc778\ud14c\ub9ac\uc5b4\ub97c \uaf3d\uc73c\ub77c\uba74 \ud55c\uad6d \uc2f8\uc774\ud2b8\uc5d0 \ub098\uc624\ub294, \ud55c\uc625 \uc778\ud14c\ub9ac\uc5b4\uac00 \uc720\uc77c\ud588\ub2e4…\u00a0\uadf8 \ub4a4\ub85c \uc5f0 \uba70\uce60, \ub098\ub294 \uc2dc\uac04\uc774 \ub0a0 \ub54c\ub9c8\ub2e4 \ub0a8\ud3b8\uacfc \ud568\uaed8 \uc7a5\uc2dd\uc7ac\ub8cc \uc2dc\uc7a5\uc744 \ud6d1\uc73c\uba70 \ubc1c\ud488\uc744 \ud314\uc558\ub2e4. \uc7ac\ub8cc\ub4e4\uc774 \ud558\ub098\ub458 \uad6c\uccb4\uc801\uc73c\ub85c \uacb0\uc815 \ub418\uba74\uc11c \ub0b4 \uba38\ub9bf\uc18d\uc758 \ud558\uc591 \ub3c4\uba74\ub3c4 \uc870\uae08\uc529\uc870\uae08\uc529 \ucc44\uc6cc\uc9c0\uace0 \uc788\uc5c8\ub2e4. \uc7a0\ub4e4\uae30 \uc804 \uce68\ub300\uc5d0 \ub204\uc6cc \ub208\uc744 \uac10\uc73c\uba74 \uc778\ud14c\ub9ac\uc5b4\uac00 \uc644\uc131\ub41c \uc6b0\ub9ac \uc9d1\uc774 \ub9dd\ub9c9 \uc548\uc5d0\uc11c \uc601\ud654 \uc18d\uc758 \ud55c \uc7a5\uba74\ucc98\ub7fc \ubd95–\ub5a0\uc62c\ub790\ub2e4.”<\/p>\n

“If I had to choose, I would say that\u00a0hanok<\/em> style interior design in Korean websites was the closest to my vision…For several consecutive days following that, I spent every free hour roaming decor and woodwork markets. \u00a0With each piece of material that we decided upon, the white easel in my mind filled up bit by bit. \u00a0Before I fell asleep, when I laid down and closed my eyes, images of our fully decorated home rose up behind my eyelids like a scene from a movie.<\/p>\n

26-27<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The narrator dreams repeatedly of a beautifully traditional style of decor, but there is no online guide of any sort to make the visualization process easier. \u00a0The shining ideal persists in her mind, however, while she and her husband diligently gather bits of wood material here and there to fashion handmade roofing and furniture. \u00a0Put side by side parallel with the narrator’s journey in constructing her ethnic and social identity as an ethnically Korean Chinese woman, this process of gathering raw material to put together a home with one’s own hands is given a deeper significance. \u00a0As there are no online instructions on how to craft one’s personalized identity, the narrator traverses her daily interactions searching for scraps of cultural common ground in various relationships, reflecting on how those scraps fit into her own self. \u00a0 By the time the house \u00a0and the furniture has been put together, the narrator still appreciates the glowing vision of traditional Choson architecture in her mind, but also cherishes the real, hand-fashioned home that she has put together piece by piece with love. \u00a0The reader hopes that this suggests a similarly lovely conclusion for the narrator’s conception of her own identity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  The Physical Home as a Portal to Choson   \u201c\ub2dd\ub3c4 \uac00\ub054 \ub0b4\uac8c \uadf8\ub7f0 \ub9d0\uc744 \ud558\uace4 \ud588\ub2e4\u2026\uc5b4\uca0c\ub4e0 \ub450 \ub098\ub77c \ub9d0\uc744 \ub2e4 \ud558\ub2c8 \ub10c \ucc38 \uc88b\uaca0\ub2e4, \uace0 \ubd80\ub7ec\uc6cc\ud588\ub2e4.\u00a0 \uadf8\ub7ec\ub098 \uadf8\ub4e4\uc774 \ubaa8\ub974\uace0 \uc788\ub294 \uac83\uc774 \ud558\ub098 \uc788\uc5c8\ub2e4.\ub098\ub294 \ub54c\ub85c \ucc28\ub77c\ub9ac \uadf8\ub4e4\ucc98\ub7fc \ud55c\uac00\uc9c0 \ub9d0\ub9cc\u2018\uc81c\ub300\ub85c\u2019 \ud588\uc73c\uba74 \uc88b\uaca0\ub2e4\uace0 \uc0dd\uac01\ud55c\ub2e4\ub294 \uac83…\ub9e4\ubc88 \uadf8\ub4e4\uacfc \ub9cc\ub098\uace0 \ub3cc\uc544\uc62c \ub54c\uba74, \ub098\ub294 \uc5b4\ub290 \ub204\uad6c\ud558\uace0\ub3c4 \uac19\uc9c0 \uc54a\uc740 \ub098 \uc790\uc2e0\uc744 \ub354<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":519,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"template-fullpage.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/korean-travel-narratives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/korean-travel-narratives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/korean-travel-narratives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/korean-travel-narratives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/519"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/korean-travel-narratives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/korean-travel-narratives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":188,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/korean-travel-narratives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95\/revisions\/188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/korean-travel-narratives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/korean-travel-narratives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/korean-travel-narratives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}