Exploring Korean-American Identity and war through storytelling

The Hawaii Independent debuted the event series Quotes through a partnership with The Box Jelly in Kaka‘ako on Aug. 28. Quotes is the new series presented by the Hawaii Independent to connect the community with the people and ideas featured in the forthcoming magazine app. This month, author Gary Pak and his new novel Brothers Under a Same Sky (Latitude 20) were featured. After a reading of the novel, a discussion was held with the audience

“Lord, this war has made me see strange, forbidding things!” said the protagonist of the novel through the voice of its author. Brothers Under a Same Sky explores the conflicts involved in the personal side of the Korean War through multiple generations and characters. The audience at the reading seemed captivated as Pak wove the story of war, personal conflict and identity.

To prepare for the novel, author Gary Pak visited sites of the Korean War. Pak explained that the novel contains reconstructed stories from his research.

“I see it as a kind of responsibility to tell these stories,” said Pak, “I try to get into character…I try to look at sense of contradiction.”

That theme of contradiction was further explored through the discussion led by Annie Koh. The image of Korea as a war-torn nation versus the “shininess” of cultural phenomenon like Kpop was a juxtaposition that Koh saw within the novel’s context.

An excerpt from Gary Pak’s novel will be included in the new Hawai‘i Independent mobile app soon to be available. The next quotes event will feature author ... with a reading from the novel…

Quotes is a monthly gathering of great people and smart conversation based on pieces in the new digital magazine edition of The Hawaii Independent, coming soon to the App Store. Quotes is presented by The Boxjelly and The Hawaii Independent.