Yoseb Baek Character Analysis in Pachinko

Yoseb is Isak’s older brother. He has been living in Osaka with his wife, Kyunghee, for the past ten years when Isak and Sunja arrive to live with them in 1933. Yoseb is good at languages and a gifted mechanic, but he’s forced to work as a biscuit factory foreman for little money. Yoseb feels the weight of responsibility for supporting his own and Isak’s families, as well as their parents back in Korea, and hates to accept help from anyone else, be it Kyunghee, Sunja, or Hansu, whose presence in Sunja’s and Noa’s lives he always mistrusts. During World War II, Yoseb goes to work in a Nagasaki factory while the rest of the family shelters in the countryside, and he receives devastating injuries in the Nagasaki bombing, preventing him from working to support the family ever again. He is angry and withdrawn after Isak’s death and his wartime injuries, but he remains a beloved uncle to Isak and Mozasu, having never had children of his own.

Yoseb Baek Quotes in Pachinko

The Pachinko quotes below are all either spoken by Yoseb Baek or refer to Yoseb 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:

Isak’s silence worried Yoseb.

“The military police will harass you until you give up or die,” Yoseb said. “And your health, Isak. You have to be careful not to get sick again. I’ve seen men arrested here. It’s not like back home. The judges here are Japanese. The police are Japanese. The laws aren’t clear. And you can’t always trust the Koreans in these independence groups. There are spies who work both sides. The poetry discussion groups have spies, and there are spies in churches, too. Eventually, each activist is picked off like ripe fruit from the same stupid tree. They’ll force you to sign a confession. Do you understand?”

Related Characters: Yoseb Baek (speaker), Baek Isak

Page Number and Citation: 106

Explanation and Analysis:

On Isak and Sunja’s very first night in Osaka after moving from Korea, Isak’s brother, Yoseb, worriedly lectures him about the unique risks he’ll face as a Korean living in Japan. He knows his idealistic younger brother and fears that Isak will associate with political groups agitating for Korean independence—the very thing that got their older brother, Samoel, killed 15 years earlier. The stakes are even higher in Japan, where Koreans are looked upon as troublemakers, and their rights aren’t safeguarded if they’re questioned or arrested by police. And Yoseb knows that Isak, prone to illness since boyhood, might not Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debit

“The police arrested them this morning—when everyone went to the Shinto shrine to bow, one of the village leaders noticed Hu mouthing the words of the Lord’s Prayer when they were supposed to be pledging allegiance to the Emperor. The police officer who was supervising questioned Hu, and Hu told him that this ceremony was idol worshipping and he wouldn’t do it anymore. Pastor Yoo tried to tell the police that the boy was misinformed, and that lie didn’t mean anything by it, but Hu refused to agree with Pastor Yoo. Pastor Baek tried to explain, too, but Hu said he was willing to walk into the furnace. Just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! Do you know that story?”

Related Characters: Yoseb Baek, Baek Isak, Pastor Yoo, Hu

Page Number and Citation: 151

Explanation and Analysis:

One day, some six years after Isak and Sunja settled in Osaka, Yoseb can’t find his brother and eventually learns what’s happened to him from some women praying in the Hanguk Presbyterian Church, where Isak works. During World War II, people in Japan were required to participate in ceremonies honoring Emperor Hirohito as a deity. Sometimes Christians were specifically rounded up and made to show their loyalty in such ceremonies. People found different ways of accommodating these demands; for example, Pastor Yoo, though believing the Shinto ceremony is essentially idol worship, allows his congregants to participate, knowing that if they Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a d

Did Koreans want Japan to win? Hell no, but what would happen to them if Japan’s enemies won? Could the Koreans save themselves? Apparently not. So save your own ass—this was what Koreans believed privately. Save your family. Feed your belly. Pay attention, and be skeptical of the people in charge. If the Korean nationalists couldn’t get their country back, then let your kids learn Japanese and try to get ahead. Adapt. Wasn’t it as simple as that? For every patriot fighting for a free Korea, or for any unlucky Korean bastard fighting on behalf of Japan, there were ten thousand compatriots on the ground and elsewhere who were just trying to eat. In the end, your belly was your emperor.

Related Characters: Yoseb Baek (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 173

Explanation and Analysis:

This quote sums up Yoseb’s thoughts on politics and how they affect everyday Koreans trying to survive under Japanese imperialism. Japan is currently at war in China, and since Korea is currently under Japanese control, Koreans don’t have a clear side to support—they basically have to choose between their oppressors (Japan) or a larger country that can’t be counted on to show them any greater kindness (China). In light of this, Yoseb thinks, Koreans must continue to look out for themselves. If they can’t regain their own country, then they should make the best of things here in Japan—at the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis.

Yoseb Baek Character Timeline in Pachinko

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

Identity, Blood, and Contamination Theme Icon

...Western-style, professional clothing. The man introduces himself as Baek Isak and explains that his brother, Yoseb, had stayed here years ago. He’s looking for a place to stay on his way... (full context)

Yoseb Baek waits restlessly at the Osaka train station. He isn’t surprised by his brother Isak’s... (full context)

Imperialism, Resistance, and Compromise Theme Icon

Yoseb and Isak greet one another joyfully. Yoseb notices that his brother, whom he hasn’t seen... (full context)

Love, Motherhood, and Women’s Choices Theme Icon

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

Yoseb explains to them that he and Kyunghee own their house, but nobody can know this.... (full context)

Over tea, Yoseb lectures Isak about not being too generous toward neighbors or assuming that fellow Koreans are... (full context)

...at the public bathhouse, Sunja feels hopeful about her new life. On the walk home, Yoseb continues lecturing his brother, warning Isak not to get mixed up in politics. He reminds... (full context)

...colonial taxes. Isak feels ashamed by the realization that he’ll have nothing to contribute to Yoseb’s household. Pastor Yoo assures him that the Lord will provide for their material needs. (full context)

...aloud about starting a kimchi business at the train station. She explains to Sunja that Yoseb won’t let her work outside the home. Sunja realizes this means that, in Yoseb’s view,... (full context)

...day two working-class Korean men appear at the door, flashing a document and saying that Yoseb is late on a payment. With interest, the payment is far more money than the... (full context)

...and his office looks respectable. When the man cancels their debt, the women learn that Yoseb took out the loan in order to pay for Sunja’s and Isak’s passage to Japan. (full context)

That night, Yoseb is enraged and ashamed that the women went to the moneylender and repaid his debt... (full context)

...her the gold watch. Isak takes this at face value and promises to explain to Yoseb, although he seems unsure. Then Sunja’s water breaks. After a brief, ordinary labor, Sunja gives... (full context)

Yoseb comes home the next morning, having spent the night in a bar fretting over his... (full context)

The story jumps ahead six years. It is 1939, and World War II is underway. Yoseb arrives home from work one Saturday with a bag of taffy and calls for six-year-old... (full context)

Yoseb finds Noa sitting on the steps of the police station, holding his month-old brother, baby... (full context)

Yoseb thinks that he “didn’t see the point of anyone dying for his country or for... (full context)

Even Yoseb has to concede that, with Isak imprisoned, the household is desperate for cash, so he... (full context)

...at school for smelling like garlic, might have an easier time. Kyunghee, scared to defy Yoseb, waits outside with baby Mozasu; Sunja has to go in alone. (full context)

...women about the terms of the job. Together, the women would earn almost twice what Yoseb makes at the factory. The restaurant would provide them with whatever ingredients they needed and... (full context)

That night, Kyunghee tells Yoseb, who’s been more withdrawn and angry since Isak’s arrest, about the job offer. Yoseb is... (full context)

Yoseb’s boss talks a lot about Japan’s current war in China. Yoseb reasons that no matter... (full context)

...they get home, she sees Isak’s shockingly aged, tortured appearance. She sends Noa to get Yoseb at the factory. When Isak wakes up, he tells Sunja how long he’s imagined this... (full context)

At the biscuit factory Noa finds Yoseb and tells him the news. Yoseb knows he’ll be fired if he leaves work early,... (full context)

When Yoseb gets home from work and sees Isak’s condition, he asks in despair, “My boy, couldn’t... (full context)

...restaurant job for her after Isak was jailed. He also employs the moneylender who’d loaned Yoseb money, as his father-in-law is one of the most powerful moneylenders in Japan. He tells... (full context)

That same day, Yoseb gets a job offer at a factory in Nagasaki, paying triple his current salary. The... (full context)

In the aftermath of the Nagasaki bombing, Yoseb is struck and horribly burned by a falling wall from a nearby building. Hansu’s men... (full context)

Yoseb suffers, and he’s in too much pain to contribute to the work on the farm.... (full context)

Yoseb tells Hansu that they’ll pay him back for everything he’s done and that they’ll return... (full context)

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

...tells him that 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... (full context)

Yoseb and Kyunghee’s old house in Osaka had been destroyed in the bombing. When they returned... (full context)

...her. The next day, he walks Kyunghee home from the market. She tells Changho that Yoseb, who’s always angry nowadays, keeps arguing with Sunja about the boys’ schooling. He thinks they... (full context)

...women’s food sales, and Changho’s contribution for room and board, they’re just barely getting by. Yoseb still won’t let them accept money from Hansu for Noa’s schooling. (full context)

...family can’t afford to send him—all their savings have been poured into care for Uncle Yoseb. Yoseb knows it would be better for the family if he were dead; he is... (full context)

When Sunja again raises the possibility of letting Hansu pay for Noa’s schooling, Yoseb is furious, reminding Sunja that he thinks Hansu’s money is “filthy” and that it comes... (full context)

...he won’t let his “own blood rot in the gutters of Ikaino.” Sunja realizes that Yoseb is right about Hansu, but that she can’t take this opportunity away from Noa. (full context)

One day in 1959, while Kyunghee is at church, Kim Changho is helping Yoseb do his therapy stretches. Yoseb tells Changho that he can marry Kyunghee after Yoseb dies,... (full context)

...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 Noa’s life. Yet... (full context)

At the Yokohama ward office, Solomon, whom his great-uncle Yoseb had named after the wise King Solomon, cheerfully volunteers his name’s biblical origins to the... (full context)

...and Solomon’s house when Yangjin develops stomach cancer. Kyunghee has been nursing Yangjin ever since Yoseb died. One afternoon the three women watch Yangjin’s favorite TV show, Other Lands, in which... (full context)

Yoseb Baek Character Analysis

Yoseb Baek Quotes in Pachinko

Book 1, Chapter 13 Quotes

Book 2, Chapter 1 Quotes

Book 2, Chapter 3 Quotes

Yoseb Baek Character Timeline in Pachinko