Previous
Banchan
Emo (sometimes anglicized as “imo”) translates to “aunt” in Korean. Throughout the memoir, Michelle refers to her mother’s sisters Nami and Eunmi as Nami Emo and Eunmi Emo. Similarly, the phrase Emo Boo denotes an uncle by marriage (which is why Michelle refers to Nami’s new husband as Emo Boo).
Emo Quotes in Crying in H Mart
The Crying in H Mart quotes below are all either spoken by Emo or refer to Emo. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 17: Little Axe Quotes
I tried to explain to Nami how much it meant to share food with her, to hear these stories. How I’d been trying to reconnect with memories of my mother through food. How Kye had made me feel like I wasn’t a real Korean. What I was searching for when I cooked doenjang jjigae and jatjuk on my own, the psychological undoing of what I felt had been my failures as a caretaker, the preservation of a culture that once felt so ingrained in me but now felt threatened. But I couldn’t find the right words and the sentences were too long and complicated for any translation app, so I quit halfway through and just reached for her hand and the two of us went on slurping the cold noodles from the tart, icy beef broth.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Crying in H Mart LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Emo Term Timeline in Crying in H Mart
The timeline below shows where the term Emo appears in Crying in H Mart. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3: Double Lid
...people share Michelle’s grandma’s three-bedroom apartment: Michelle and her mom, Michelle’s Halmoni (grandma), aunts Eunmi Emo and Nami Emo, and Nami’s son Seong Young. Michelle especially loves her older cousin, who...
(full context)
Chapter 5: Where’s the Wine?
Michelle had always been a difficult child, earning the nickname (from Nami Emo) of “Famous Bad Girl.” But in adolescence, Michelle struggled with sleeplessness and depression, failing her...
(full context)
Chapter 8: Unni
...few weeks, until LA Kim, Chongmi’s oldest friend, can get to Eugene. After that, Nami Emo might come, though everyone is hoping to avoid that, since Nami had to watch Eunmi...
(full context)
Chapter 10: Living and Dying
...be there”). The plane takes off, and after an 18-hour flight, Michelle arrives at Nami Emo’s. But there is more bad news: Chongmi’s flight has not gone well, and she is...
(full context)
Chapter 17: Little Axe
...take a belated honeymoon to South Korea. Using Google translate, Michelle reaches out to Nami Emo to tell her they are coming. Michelle worries that her presence will remind Nami of...
(full context)
Chapter 20: Coffee Hanjan
...touring all over the world, with a final stop in Seoul. When Michelle tells Nami Emo the good news, she is confused, wondering if there is an “office” that pays Michelle...
(full context)
...responsible, manipulating things from beyond the grave. As the concert ends, Michelle gestures to the crowd—“Emo, welcome to my hoesa” (office).
(full context)
