Yangjin Character Analysis in Pachinko

Yangjin, Hoonie’s wife and Sunja’s mother, is born into a poor family in Yeongdo. She is matched with Hoonie as a teenager, and the two have a happy marriage, although she loses several children before giving birth to Sunja. Yangjin takes over the running of the boardinghouse after Hoonie dies. After Sunja becomes pregnant with Hansu’s child, she allows Sunja to marry Isak and move to Osaka, where she’ll have a chance for a better life. During World War II, Hansu finds Yangjin and reunites her with Sunja and her family in Japan. Yangjin helps with Sunja’s confectionery business and lives with Kyunghee until she dies of cancer in 1979.

Yangjin Quotes in Pachinko

The Pachinko quotes below are all either spoken by Yangjin or refer to Yangjin. 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:

“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:

Yangjin Character Timeline in Pachinko

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

Imperialism, Resistance, and Compromise Theme Icon

...the boardinghouse, the matchmaker thinks that even Hoonie can find a healthy bride. She suggests Yangjin, a young girl from an impoverished family on the other side of the island. Hearing... (full context)

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... (full context)

...the winter of 1932 is an especially difficult one. At the same time, the widowed Yangjin has to learn how to run the boardinghouse on her own and be an employer.... (full context)

Identity, Blood, and Contamination Theme Icon

One evening, Yangjin listens as some boarders, the Chung brothers, talk politics over dinner. Japan is currently at... (full context)

A young, sickly man from Pyongyang arrives at the boardinghouse door after a long journey. Yangjin is surprised by the sight of him—he’s handsome and elegant in Western-style, professional clothing. The... (full context)

...whole next day. The coal man, Jun, stops by for his payment and chats with Yangjin about the mysterious new boarder. He helped Isak find the boardinghouse the night before and... (full context)

A week ago, Sunja had confessed to Yangjin that she is pregnant, and that the baby’s father won’t marry her. Nobody else knows,... (full context)

...Hansu’s stare and buys her seaweed. When she chats with Mrs. Jun about her mother Yangjin’s hard work, Mrs. Jun tells her that “a woman’s life is endless work and suffering”... (full context)

...and is surprised by the sparks of attraction she feels. One day in the fall, Yangjin sends Sunja to pick mushrooms in the forest. Hansu asks to come along, since he’s... (full context)

...Korea; he has “come to depend on [Sunja’s] innocence and adoration.” He offers to buy Yangjin’s boardinghouse so that the women no longer have to work. But Sunja drops Hansu’s money... (full context)

...dramatically. The village pharmacist clears him to travel to Osaka in a few weeks. When Yangjin accompanies the still weakened pastor in a walk along the beach, she confides in him... (full context)

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

Isak tells Pastor Shin that he had been studying Hosea the morning before Yangjin spoke to him, and that he believes God is calling him to take this step.... (full context)

...be missing him now. Yet she also thinks of Hoonie’s devoted love for her and Yangjin, and she can’t imagine sharing a man she loves with another woman. Despite all this,... (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... (full context)

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

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

...doesn’t remember. She thanks Yoseb for his hospitality, and he thanks her and her mother, Yangjin, for saving Isak’s life. He thinks that Sunja doesn’t “look or talk like some village... (full context)

...ordinary labor, Sunja gives birth to a strong son. She cries for her own mother, Yangjin, all the while. (full context)

Four months after their arrival on Tamaguchi’s farm, Hansu arrives with Yangjin, who looks frightened, tired, and malnourished. Soon Sunja and Yangjin have a tearful reunion in... (full context)

...return to school after the war, Sunja wonders what the family will do then, as Yangjin’s boardinghouse has been sold, and there’s nothing left of Yeongdo. Hansu gives Noa some Korean... (full context)

...books, Hansu and Sunja talk. Hansu explains that instead of just tracking down news of Yangjin, he’d thought it would be better to bring her to Japan, since things in Korea... (full context)

...sleep and gets up in the middle of the night to make candy to sell. Yangjin joins her. Sunja is trying to earn extra money for Noa’s tutoring fees—he failed the... (full context)

...Sunja knows that even with their struggles, they have a better life here in Osaka. Yangjin recalls the boardinghouse servant girls, Bokhee and Dokhee, and cries because she’s sure they were... (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... (full context)

Sunja returns to Osaka from Mozasu’s and Solomon’s house when Yangjin develops stomach cancer. Kyunghee has been nursing Yangjin ever since Yoseb died. One afternoon the... (full context)

After the show, Kyunghee and Yangjin repeat the proverb about women’s suffering. Sunja feels disgusted. She has heard this saying all... (full context)

Solomon and Hana are sitting together at Yangjin’s funeral. Solomon tries to concentrate while Hana whispers questions about Christianity. Solomon is a Christian,... (full context)

After Yangjin’s funeral, Hana and Solomon start secretly having sex. Even though Solomon is not yet 14... (full context)

Yangjin Character Analysis

Yangjin Quotes in Pachinko

Book 3, Chapter 12 Quotes

Yangjin Character Timeline in Pachinko