Mary Paik Lee

Book Review by: Ellen Stecker

Mary Paik Lee is one of the books I requested to read. From the start, I had a personal interest in Mrs. Lee’s story. I have grown up in a home joining two cultures. My Dad is American and my mom is Korean. My mom was the first of her family and still is the first to come to America. My mom didn’t know English, so she had to learn the language and adapt to the culture. The first time she came to America was getting married to my Dad. I really admire my mom because I can’t imagine what it’s like to adjust to the married life, and at the same time, be adjusting to a new culture and language. I have been able to visit Korea once to experience the culture and talk to my relatives. It was exciting and interesting to see where my mom comes from. It is very amazing to see similarities, and yet there is a vast difference because my mom has changed so much. She is different than her family, and it is truly amazing her and my dad have stayed together over 20 years. God has blessed their marriage, and I am glad they chose to love each other even with all the hard adjustments they had to make. I am sure if they didn’t have God, it would have been easy for them to give up and split up by now. I am encouraged to see how they have stuck together, working things out, and growing in their love to each other. There is my personal side showing my connection to this story through my Korean family background.

Mary Paik Lee is part of the first generation in her family to come to America. In the beginning of her book, she tells about the history of Korea. It is interesting to learn about their government. The Japanese was taking over Korea at the time Mary Paik Lee left Korea. Her mother and father saw that the life in Korea would be hard with how Japan treated the Koreans. Even though Mary’s parents didn’t have an ensured success in America, they knew they had opportunity and they decided to take it. First, their family goes to Hawaii. It is remarkable what little their family lived on. Mary came from a big family. Her mom kept having kids. They didn’t have much money, so at one point all they had to eat was one biscuit and water for a whole day. The main part that stuck out to me about her childhood was when she went to a different town to go to school. Mary had to leave her family and find work at a school and living with another family. My life in college studying and working seems hard enough. Mary did the hard school and work for a year, but then she went back home. It had worn her body out, and she had lost weight.

The most interesting part of Mary’s life was hearing her experience during Pearl Harbor. By the year 1940, Mary is married to HM and has children. Their family is farming in South Whittier California. In this area, they have Japanese neighbors who specialize in chrysanthemum farms. It’s amazing that one flower went for 5 dollars in the market back then! Because of Pearl Harbor, there was a lot of discrimination towards Orientals. Mary’s Japanese friends were taken to concentration camps. Americans would blame any oriental for Pearl Harbor, even if Japanese got the worst. It is quite the coincidence that Mary is friends with the Nixons. President Richard Nixon is the Nixons son. Mary would go to the Nixon’s grocery store. This is where she heard about Pearl Harbor. Men in the store took out their anger on Mary calling her a “Jap.” Mrs. Nixon stood up for her. This was nice to read that a white woman would stand up for a Korean women who is being discriminated and blamed unnecessarily. It is also unique that Mary had a connection with President Richard Nixon through shopping at this parents grocery store.

The part of the book that made me relieved was towards the end hearing about Mary’s old age. At the end of her life, Mary and HM finally got to relax. The life of her family moving from Korea to her own family with HM sounded rough and difficult. They worked really hard and endured discrimination. When they could go to Redondo Beach and catch clams with friends, it finally sounds like they can enjoy life at a slower pace. Mary lives a long time. The book goes until she is 84. Mary sees her mom, husband, and eldest son die. She looks back to reflect on the sacrifice her mom and dad made. There is a lot of progress made from her childhood to her kids. Mary was able to see a good progression. Her sons were successful and were able to get jobs besides farming. Mary also saw younger generation Koreans going to school and getting the same job opportunities as long as they were capable. They got past discrimination in her life time.

The purpose of Mary’s autobiography is shown by her life story. Mary sees the sacrifice her parents made. She doesn’t want Koreans who are growing up in this age to forget what the first generation of Koreans endured coming to America. Koreans now can grow up in comfortable homes with opportunities open to them. It is easier for Koreans to obtain their dreams and success now. Mary Lee reminds them and shows others fulfilling dreams and success wouldn’t be possible for Koreans now without the foundation laid by the Koreans who first came to America.