Forever Alien

Book excerpt: Korean native Sunny Che spent most of her early childhood in Japan, where she and her family were treated as outsiders. She returned to Korea, only to find herself a stranger in her homeland. This memoir is the story of her personal struggle amidst the crucial events enveloping Asia at midcentury. Part I chronicles her childhood in Japan and the beginning of the war in the Pacific. Part II describes her return to Korea, the turmoil of Korea's liberation from Japan, and the Korean War. From a schoolgirl's perspective, Che describes events both global and intimate. She depicts the alienation and chaos of war and migration, as well as the domestic trials of a family seeking not merely to survive but to hold on to their heritage. Her story is at once a unique perspective on history and a moving chronicle of her own childhood, providing a detailed picture of diverse cultures irrevocably changed by two devastating wars.