Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Girl with Seven Names, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Oppression, Human Rights, and North Korea
Identity and Nationality
Family
Kindness
Summary
Analysis
Aunt Sang-hee wants Hyeonseo to bring Mother and Min-ho to Shenyang, but there is no time. Their journey across China will take nearly a week, and they will have to cross eight large provinces. Nearly a week later, they arrive in Zhengzhou Province, and Hyeonseo begins to feel excited. They are set to meet a broker at the border to bring them into Vietnam, but Hyeonseo instantly has a bad feeling about him.
Hyeonseo has had bad experiences with brokers in the past, and this one proves to be no different. The Zhengzhou Province is large, and extends into Central China, but they are moving closer to China’s border with Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand, which illustrates just how long their journey has been.
Themes
The broker is upset. He was not planning on Min-ho being with them, but Hyeonseo finally convinces him that she will pay extra once she gets back to Seoul. Then the broker tells her that he will be taking them through Laos. Vietnam is too risky, he says, but Hyeonseo will have to head back to Seoul without them for the time being. She refuses, but the broker won’t help unless she follows his instructions exactly. Hyeonseo finally agrees. She gives Min-ho $150 and has him memorize her number in Seoul.
Hyeonseo’s reluctance to leave her family and her initial refusal to do again reinforces how deeply important to her they are. The broker’s own reluctance to help Min-ho suggests that he isn’t a broker because he wants to help those oppressed by the North Korean regime; he is simply in it for the money, which underscores Lee’s theory that kindness in the world is rare.
Themes
After the broker leaves with Min-ho and Mother, Hyeonseo decides to stay in Kunming in China. The next day, Min-ho calls her cellphone and tells her that they have made it to Laos. Hyeonseo is relieved and decides to finally return Kim’s calls. She has been ignoring his texts all week. She tells Kim that she is in China and that she has gotten her mother and brother out of North Korea and safely into Laos. Kim can’t believe she has lied to him again, but he is looking forward to hearing the story. As Hyeonseo readies herself to leave China, her phone rings again. It is the broker. Min-ho and Mother have been picked up by the police.
Kim’s quick acceptance of Hyeonseo’s dishonesty illustrates his fondness for her and his kindness and good nature, but the fact that Hyeonseo doesn’t tell him the truth in the first place reflects the habits Hyeonseo has grown accustomed to as a North Korean refugee. She hasn’t been able to be honest with people about her identity in the past, and she can’t very easily stop now, even though she has South Korean citizenship and freedom.
Themes
