Sunja Baek Character Analysis in Pachinko

Sunja, the family matriarch, is the only surviving child of Hoonie and Yangjin. She is born in Yeongdo, Korea, around 1916. She is doted on by Hoonie, who dies when she is 13. As a girl, Sunja assists her mother in the boardinghouse. She is short, sturdy, and “more handsome than pretty.” She is energetic and has an infectious laugh, but becomes quieter and more thoughtful after her father’s death. While doing the marketing in Busan, Sunja draws the attentions of Koh Hansu. They begin meeting in secret, and within a few months, Sunja is pregnant. When Hansu offers to keep her as his mistress, however, Sunja refuses. Baek Isak proposes marriage to her instead, and they move to Osaka to live with Yoseb and Kyunghee. Sunja gives birth to Hansu’s son, Noa, followed by Isak’s son, Mozasu, six years later. To support the family while Isak is imprisoned, Sunja starts a kimchi cart in the open market. Unbeknownst to her, Hansu then arranges for Kim Changho to hire her and Kyunghee to cook in his restaurant. She reluctantly accepts Hansu’s help in fleeing to the countryside during World War II and later in financing Noa’s education at Waseda University. She always cares for Hansu, though she also resents his recurrent interference in her life, especially after Noa learns the truth about his parentage and becomes estranged from the rest of the family. Eventually, Sunja’s confectionery stall in the market becomes a successful shop, but she spends her later years caring for her grandson Solomon when Mozasu becomes a single father, and then nursing Yangjin before she dies. All her life, Sunja regularly visits Isak’s grave and is comforted to learn that Noa did the same until he died.

Sunja Baek Quotes in Pachinko

The Pachinko quotes below are all either spoken by Sunja Baek or refer to Sunja Baek. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

“Sunja-ya, a woman’s life is endless work and suffering. There is suffering and then more suffering. It’s better to expect it, you know. You’re becoming a woman now, so you should be told this. For a woman, the man you marry will determine the quality of your life completely. A good man is a decent life, and a bad man is a cursed life—but no matter what, always expect suffering, and just keep working hard. No one will take care of a poor woman—just ourselves.”

Related Characters: Mrs. Jun (speaker), Sunja Baek

Page Number and Citation: 27

Explanation and Analysis:

“The widow told me about her daughter only yesterday. And last night before my evening prayers, it occurred to me that this is what I can do for them: Give the woman and child my name. What is my name to me? It’s only a matter of grace that I was born a male who could enter my descendants in a family registry. If the young woman was abandoned by a scoundrel, it’s hardly her fault, and certainly, even if the man is not a bad person, the unborn child is innocent. Why should he suffer so? He would be ostracized. […] Maybe my life can be significant—not on a grand scale like my brother, but to a few people. Maybe I can help this young woman and her child. And they will be helping me, because I will have a family of my own—a great blessing no matter how you look at it.”

Related Characters: Baek Isak (speaker), Sunja Baek, Pastor Shin

Page Number and Citation: 65

Explanation and Analysis:

Sunja cried out, “Kimchi! Delicious Kimchi! Kimchi! Delicious kimchi! Oishi desu! Oishi kimchi!”

This sound, the sound of her own voice, felt familiar, not because it was her own voice but because it reminded her of all the times she’d gone to the market as a girl—first with her father, later by herself as a young woman, then as a lover yearning for the gaze of her beloved. The chorus of women hawking had always been with her, and now she’d joined them. “Kimchi! Kimchi! Homemade kimchi! The most delicious kimchi in Ikaino! More tasty than your grandmother’s! Oishi desu, oishi!'' She tried to sound cheerful, because back home, she had always frequented the nicest ajummas. When the passersby glanced in her direction, she bowed and smiled at them. ''Oishi! Oishi!”

Related Characters: Sunja Baek (speaker), Hoonie

Page Number and Citation: 161

Explanation and Analysis:

“How did I know that you needed work? How did I know where Noa goes to school, that his math teacher is a Korean who pretends to be Japanese, that your husband died because he didn’t get out of prison in time, and that you’re alone in this world. How did I know how to keep my family safe? It’s my job to know what others don’t. How did you know to make kimchi and sell it on a street corner to earn money? You knew because you wanted to live. I want to live, too, and if I want to live, I have to know things others don’t. Now, I’m telling you something valuable. I’m telling you something so you can save your sons’ lives. Don’t waste this information. The world can go to hell, but you need to protect your sons.”

Related Characters: Koh Hansu (speaker), Sunja Baek, Noa Baek, Baek Isak

Page Number and Citation: 199

Explanation and Analysis:

“Yakuza are the filthiest people in Japan. They are thugs; they are common criminals. They frighten shopkeepers; they sell drugs; they control prostitution; and they hurt innocent people. All the worst Koreans are members of these gangs. I took money for my education from a yakuza, and you thought this was acceptable? I will never be able to wash this dirt from my name. You can’t be very bright,” he said. “How can you make something clean from something dirty? And now, you have made me dirty,” Noa said quietly, as if he was learning this as he was saying it to her. “All my life, I have had Japanese telling me that my blood is Korean— that Koreans are angry, violent, cunning, and deceitful criminals. All my life, I had to endure this. I tried to be as honest and humble as Baek Isak was; I never raised my voice. But this blood, my blood is Korean, and now I learn that my blood is yakuza blood. I can never change this, no matter what I do. It would have been better if I were never born. How could you have ruined my life? How could you be so imprudent? A foolish mother and a criminal father. I am cursed.”

Related Characters: Noa Baek (speaker), Sunja Baek, Koh Hansu, Baek Isak

Related Literary Devices:

Page Number and Citation: 311

Explanation and Analysis:

He believed that she’d been foolish for refusing to be his wife in Korea. What did it matter that he had a marriage in Japan? He would have taken excellent care of her and Noa. They would have had other children. She would never have had to work in an open market or in a restaurant kitchen. Nevertheless, he had to admire her for not taking his money the way any young girl did these days. In Tokyo, it was possible for a man to buy a girl for a bottle of French perfume or a pair of shoes from Italy.

Related Characters: Koh Hansu, Sunja Baek

Page Number and Citation: 351

Explanation and Analysis:

“Go-saeng,” Yangjin said out loud. “A woman’s lot is to suffer.”

“Yes, go-saeng.” Kyunghee nodded, repeating the word for suffering.

All her life, Sunja had heard this sentiment from other women, that they must suffer—suffer as a girl, suffer as a wife, suffer as a mother, die suffering. Go-saeng—the word made her sick. What else was there besides this? She had suffered to create a better life for Noa, and yet it was not enough. Should she have taught her son to suffer the humiliation that she’d drunk like water? In the end, he had refused to suffer the conditions of his birth.

[…]

Noa had been a sensitive child who had believed that if he followed all the rules and was the best, then somehow the hostile world would change its mind. His death may have been her fault for having allowed him to believe in such cruel ideals.

Related Characters: Yangjin (speaker), Kyunghee Baek (speaker), Sunja Baek, Noa Baek

Page Number and Citation: 414

Explanation and Analysis:

Sunja Baek Character Timeline in Pachinko

The timeline below shows where the character Sunja Baek appears in Pachinko. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Love, Motherhood, and Women’s Choices Theme Icon

Soon, Hoonie and Yangjin are quietly married. After losing several children, Yangjin gives birth to Sunja, a daughter, who thrives. Hoonie treasures and dotes on the girl. When Sunja is 13,... (full context)

Identity, Blood, and Contamination Theme Icon

A week ago, Sunja had confessed to Yangjin that she is pregnant, and that the baby’s father won’t marry... (full context)

Imperialism, Resistance, and Compromise Theme Icon

The novel flashes back to six months earlier, when Sunja first met the new fish broker, Koh Hansu. While Sunja’s doing the marketing, Mrs. Jun,... (full context)

Sunja ignores Hansu’s stare and buys her seaweed. When she chats with Mrs. Jun about her... (full context)

From then on, Hansu “seemed to be everywhere,” and he begins asking Sunja questions while she’s doing her marketing. He sounds like “a strong person who [is] trying... (full context)

One day in June, Sunja is walking home from the market when three Japanese high school boys start harassing her,... (full context)

...the boys to formally apologize and sends them away, he tries to calm a weeping Sunja. He warns her never to walk alone in public, since the colonial government is looking... (full context)

The next market day, Sunja thanks Hansu, and he asks her to meet him on the beach where she does... (full context)

For three months, Sunja and Hansu continue meeting on the beach every wash day, and Hansu tells her stories... (full context)

Sunja is puzzled by their outing and by Hansu’s continued interest in her, since Hansu seems... (full context)

Sunja wants to marry Hansu and is soon pleased to discover that she’s pregnant. After Hansu... (full context)

Hansu, meanwhile, is excited about the possibility of a son, and he gives Sunja money for her food cravings. He thinks happily about having a wife and family in... (full context)

Hansu doesn’t understand why Sunja is upset. He assures her that he will honor his obligations and that she is... (full context)

...the still weakened pastor in a walk along the beach, she confides in him that Sunja is pregnant. She explains that it would already have been difficult for Sunja to marry,... (full context)

Isak tells Pastor Shin about Yangjin and Sunja’s sacrificial care for him while he was suffering from tuberculosis and also explains Sunja’s plight.... (full context)

...has reservations, he sees that Isak won’t be dissuaded, and he agrees to meet with Sunja and her mother. (full context)

That night, Sunja lies awake thinking about her baby and about Hansu, who has left Busan. She knows... (full context)

The next morning, a stunned and grateful Yangjin gives Isak permission to propose to Sunja. When she informs Sunja of Isak’s intentions, Sunja is puzzled by his motivations, but immediately... (full context)

Isak takes Sunja to a Japanese noodle restaurant, and they talk about their future life in Osaka. Isak... (full context)

A week later, Sunja, Yangjin, and Isak go to visit Pastor Shin. The pastor asks Sunja how she feels... (full context)

Isak intervenes, saying that he believes Sunja will be a good wife and that the marriage will benefit him as much as... (full context)

A few days later, Sunja and the boardinghouse’s servant girls, sisters Bokhee and Dokhee, are doing laundry on the beach.... (full context)

On the morning that Sunja and Isak leave for Japan, Yangjin and Sunja sit at the ferry terminal while Isak... (full context)

...the Osaka train station. He isn’t surprised by his brother Isak’s selfless act in marrying Sunja; as a boy, Isak used to give away much of his food to the household... (full context)

...he hasn’t seen in 10 years, is no longer a boy. He had also met Sunja as a little girl, when he was a guest at the boardinghouse, but Sunja doesn’t... (full context)

As they travel toward Yoseb’s house by trolley, Sunja takes in the sights of Osaka and remembers Hansu telling her about all these things.... (full context)

...nobody can know this. Most Koreans rent, and Japanese landlords won’t rent them good properties. Sunja wonders how Hansu can afford to own many properties in Osaka. Kyunghee welcomes them warmly... (full context)

...into, and that “bad” Koreans know that the police won’t listen to Korean complaints. As Sunja helps Kyunghee prepare dinner, Kyunghee, who’s barren, expresses joy over the coming baby and assures... (full context)

After the family enjoys a long soak at the public bathhouse, Sunja feels hopeful about her new life. On the walk home, Yoseb continues lecturing his brother,... (full context)

Back at home, Isak and Sunja go to bed. Though they’ve been married for a while, they’ve never slept together, as... (full context)

Despite Isak’s uncertainty and Sunja’s nervousness, Sunja finds herself responding to the gentleness of Isak’s touch. She can’t help comparing... (full context)

As the months go on, Sunja finds her life in Osaka “luxurious” compared to life in Korea, because she and Kyunghee... (full context)

One day as they do the marketing, Sunja tells Kyunghee she feels bad that she and Isak aren’t contributing anything to the household... (full context)

...payment is far more money than the women have at home. Kyunghee is intimidated, but Sunja thinks the men resemble the lodgers back home, and she speaks to them calmly, telling... (full context)

Sunja and Kyunghee go to a Korean pawnbroker’s office. Sunja gives the pawnbroker Hansu’s gold watch... (full context)

Later, equipped with the money from the pawned watch, Sunja and Kyunghee go to the moneylender’s office to repay the debt. The moneylender is a... (full context)

...women went to the moneylender and repaid his debt for him. Privately, he wonders where Sunja could have gotten such an expensive watch and wonders if he should have allowed her... (full context)

When Isak gets home, Sunja tells him that her mother had given her the gold watch. Isak takes this at... (full context)

...responsibilities to his family. When Isak speaks to him, Yoseb weeps and forgives him and Sunja. As the brothers walk to church, Isak asks him, as head of the family, to... (full context)

...sitting on the steps of the police station, holding his month-old brother, baby Mozasu. Inside, Sunja is weeping; she and Kyunghee aren’t allowed to see Isak. Yoseb wonders why Hu made... (full context)

As the weeks go on, Sunja takes meals to the jail every morning, even though she doesn’t know for sure if... (full context)

...to concede that, with Isak imprisoned, the household is desperate for cash, so he allows Sunja to peddle kimchi in Ikaino’s open-air market, as long as Kyunghee does the cooking from... (full context)

As the day goes on, Sunja gains confidence in hawking kimchi, imagining herself joining the company of market women she’s been... (full context)

One day, a few months later, a man named Kim Changho approaches Sunja’s cart as she’s selling candy and asks her when she’ll have kimchi again. He explains... (full context)

Sunja and Kyunghee take their cart, and a few weeks’ worth of kimchi, to the restaurant.... (full context)

Kim Changho isn’t at the restaurant yet, so Sunja waits outside with Kyunghee. When the man arrives, he talks to both women about the... (full context)

Noa fetches Sunja from the restaurant, and she feels sorry when she realizes she’s done nothing to prepare... (full context)

...at home, Isak, terribly feverish, drifts between dreams and consciousness. He struggles to speak to Sunja, telling her, “My life wasn’t important.” Having prayed ceaselessly for the family’s provision, he wants... (full context)

...“My boy, couldn’t you just tell them what they wanted to hear?” Isak sleeps as Sunja, Kyunghee, and Yoseb spend the evening shaving his gray hair and beard, filled with nits. (full context)

...war, and even the restaurant is struggling. One day Kim Changho has a talk with Sunja and Kyunghee, explaining that the restaurant will close tomorrow. He asks Kyunghee to accompany him... (full context)

Hansu had tracked down Sunja over ten years ago after she pawned the gold pocket watch. He created the restaurant... (full context)

Sunja feels angry, realizing that Hansu has followed her like an invisible, “watchful shadow” all these... (full context)

...with Hansu and his agreement to take in the Korean boarders. He quickly discovers that Sunja and her family are all excellent workers around the farm. (full context)

...arrival on Tamaguchi’s farm, Hansu arrives with Yangjin, who looks frightened, tired, and malnourished. Soon Sunja and Yangjin have a tearful reunion in the middle of the potato field. After eating... (full context)

...thriving. When Hansu asks Noa if he’d like to return to school after the war, Sunja wonders what the family will do then, as Yangjin’s boardinghouse has been sold, and there’s... (full context)

While the others are occupied with the comic books, Hansu and Sunja talk. Hansu explains that instead of just tracking down news of Yangjin, he’d thought it... (full context)

...because “he didn’t see how their lives could be useful for his purposes.” He knows Sunja might follow her brother- and sister-in-law back to Korea out of a sense of duty,... (full context)

When Hansu coldly tells Sunja about the alleged fate of Yoseb’s and Kyunghee’s parents, Sunja finds him cruel and thinks... (full context)

...he knows Changho has feelings for Kyunghee. Changho has been living with Yoseb, Kyunghee, and Sunja. Hansu is worried that Changho is too attached to Kyunghee, though. Changho admits that he’s... (full context)

...from the market. She tells Changho that Yoseb, who’s always angry nowadays, keeps arguing with Sunja about the boys’ schooling. He thinks they should attend the neighborhood Korean school so they... (full context)

A few years later, in 1953, Sunja can’t sleep and gets up in the middle of the night to make candy to... (full context)

The reports from Korea have been frightening—epidemics, starvation, and boys kidnapped by the army. Sunja knows that even with their struggles, they have a better life here in Osaka. Yangjin... (full context)

When Mozasu is 16, he’s required to help Yangjin and Sunja with their candy cart in the afternoons because he’s prone to getting into fights. One... (full context)

When Sunja again raises the possibility of letting Hansu pay for Noa’s schooling, Yoseb is furious, reminding... (full context)

The next day, Hansu asks Noa and Sunja to come to his office in Osaka. Hansu is beaming with pride over Noa’s achievement.... (full context)

The next morning Kyunghee finds that Changho has left for Korea already. Sunja comforts her as she cries. Kyunghee explains that she couldn’t have given Changho children, and... (full context)

...to his mother’s house and asks her for the truth about his relationship to Hansu. Sunja realizes that Yoseb had been right all along about the danger of Hansu’s presence in... (full context)

Sunja tries to explain that she has little contact with Hansu and doesn’t know what he... (full context)

Sunja goes to Hansu’s mansion and asks Hansu’s wife, in broken Japanese, if she can speak... (full context)

Sunja takes time off from her confectionary store to help around Mozasu’s house. One morning when... (full context)

Sunja continues living with Mozasu to help take care of Solomon. One day Hansu is watching... (full context)

Sunja and Solomon ride home in the backseat of Hansu’s big sedan. Three-year-old Solomon invites Hansu... (full context)

Sunja notices that Hansu has aged well; he looks like a “handsome grandfather,” not a yakuza... (full context)

...business card in case he’s interested in transferring to a job in Tokyo’s police precinct. Sunja watches, feeling suspicious of Hansu’s help; he “was not an ordinary person, and he was... (full context)

In 1978, Hansu picks up a well-dressed but matronly 62-year-old Sunja. He has located Noa, who has been living as a middle-class Japanese family man for... (full context)

When Sunja sees Noa, she can’t refrain from jumping out of the car. When Noa sees his... (full context)

When Sunja asks if it is so terrible to be Korean, Noa says that “it is terrible... (full context)

Sunja returns to Osaka from Mozasu’s and Solomon’s house when Yangjin develops stomach cancer. Kyunghee has... (full context)

After the show, Kyunghee and Yangjin repeat the proverb about women’s suffering. Sunja feels disgusted. She has heard this saying all her life, but she’d suffered for Noa,... (full context)

Hansu, walking with a cane, approaches Sunja after the funeral. Sunja doesn’t want to hold anything against Hansu anymore, but when he... (full context)

Sunja and Kyunghee warmly welcome Phoebe. Phoebe loves being around Solomon’s family, who are more compact... (full context)

As she cooks, Sunja thinks that although she’d been taught that a woman’s life is one of suffering, she... (full context)

Sunja, who’s now 73, still dreams about Hansu and wishes she’d forgotten him by now. She... (full context)

Pachinko

Sunja Baek Character Analysis

Sunja Baek Quotes in Pachinko

Book 1, Chapter 4 Quotes

Book 1, Chapter 8 Quotes

Book 2, Chapter 2 Quotes

Book 2, Chapter 6 Quotes

Book 2, Chapter 19 Quotes

Book 3, Chapter 4 Quotes

Book 3, Chapter 12 Quotes

Sunja Baek Character Timeline in Pachinko