Re Jane (37 page)

Writing a novel is lonely work; I am indebted to so many people whose help and support along the way made this even remotely possible. To Umma and Abba, for teaching me the word
jung
(and for never forcing me to become a doctor, lawyer, and/or concert pianist). To Unnie and Oppa, for the kind of tough love and torment only older siblings can provide. To Richard, Clara, and Gage: your endless giggles and innocence are an inspiration.

To my thesis advisor Xuefei Jin, for guiding this novel through its early drafts, informing so much of its structure, and urging me to “put everything” into this one. To the ever-generous writers Lisa Borders and Michelle Hoover, for whipping this manuscript into shape and taking a ruthless red pen to cliché-ridden (riddled?) sentences like these. To my agents Esmond Harmsworth and Lane Zachary: thank you for your literary counsel and beyond invaluable edits—and for fighting for Eunice (as well as “Poo, Rushing”).

To my editor Pam Dorman: I swear you know these characters better than I do!—thank you for pushing them to be fuller, rounder, and subtler in ways I didn't know how. To Seema Mahanian, Clare Ferraro, Kathryn Court, Patrick Nolan, Carolyn Coleburn, Louise Braverman, Kristin Matzen, Andrea Lam, Roseanne Serra, Francesca Belanger, Nancy Sheppard, Sarah Janet, Winnie De Moya, John Fagan, Hal Fessenden, Leigh Butler, Tricia Conley, Kate Griggs, and everyone on the hardcover and paperback sales teams at Penguin Random House: thank you so much for welcoming Jane home.

My gratitude to Fulbright, the Korean-American Educational Commission, and Professor Sung Kyungjun for supporting my novel research in Seoul. I am so grateful for fellowship support from the Center for Fiction in New York, the Jerome Foundation, and the American Association of University Women. To Grub Street in Boston and to all the Novel Incubees, for their careful reads—you guys rock.

A huge thanks to Diana Ahn, for giving this manuscript multiple reads, sharing her real estate and construction expertise, and making a lifetime of slogging on the 7 train all the more bearable. To my Kun-Gomo and my late Kun-Gomobu, for taking such good care of me in Seoul. To Hyemin Yu, for fielding all my stupid questions about modern Korean culture and for her indispensable research skills. To Peter Dimock and Ariana X. Dimock, for their generous reads and insight. To Brett Taylor, for his tireless energy, cartographic prowess, and help fine-tuning the final drafts of this novel. To all my friends and family in New York, Boston, and Korea who have lent their eyes, ears, and patience to this effort.

I am beholden to Charlotte Brontë's
Jane Eyre
.

And to my two great loves: New York City, for inspiring me to become a writer; and Boston, for teaching me how.

Korean family relations are extremely intricate; below are some commonly used family terms. While it is acceptable to call younger relations by their first name, older relations must be addressed using titles marking that specific relationship. These titles are based not only on your gender and age, but also on the gender and age of the relation you are addressing, as well as whether that relation is on your mother's or father's side. (This is by no means an exhaustive list; e.g., when a Korean marries, he or she will be faced with a whole new set of terms for each in-law member.) Unless otherwise stated, all of these terms are direct addresses.

The Republic of Korea officially uses the Revised Romanization system to romanize Korean words. However, I have departed from the system where I feel other phonetic spellings better represent the pronunciation of the word.

N
UCLEAR
-
F
AMILY
T
ERMS

Abuji
:
Father

Abba
:
Dad

Umuni
:
Mother

Umma
:
Mom

Hyung
:
Big Brother; what a younger male calls his older brother (or cousin, friend, etc.)

Oppa
:
Big Brother; what a younger female calls her older brother (or cousin, boyfriend, or older intimate male in her life)

Nuna
:
Big Sister; what a younger male calls his older sister (or cousin, friend, etc.)

Unnie
:
Big Sister; what a younger female calls her older sister (or cousin, friend, etc.)

T
ERMS
FOR
G
RANDPARENTS

Harabuji
:
Grandfather (general term)

Chin-Harabuji:
your father's father

Wae-Harabuji:
your mother's father

Halmuni
:
Grandmother (general term)

Chin-Halmuni:
your father's mother

Wae-Halmuni:
your mother's mother

T
ERMS
FOR
U
NCLE

Kun-Abba
:
your father's older brother

Jageun-Abba
:
your father's younger brother

Gomobu:
your father's sister's husband

Wae-samchon:
your mother's brother (older specified by the prefix
Kun
; younger by the prefix
Jageun;
multiple uncles are often given ordinal numbers in the order of their birth)

Samchon:
traditionally your father's bachelor and/or younger brother, but sometimes used as a general term for uncle

Emobu
:
your mother's sister's husband

T
ERMS
FOR
A
UNT

Emo
:
your mother's sister (older specified by the prefix
Kun;
younger by the prefix
Jageun;
multiple aunts are given ordinal numbers)

Gomo:
your father's sister (older specified by the prefix
Kun;
younger by the prefix
Jageun;
multiple aunts are given ordinal numbers)

Wae-sugmo
:
your mother's brother's wife

Kun-Umma
:
your father's eldest brother's wife

Jageun-Umma
:
your father's younger brother's wife

Sugmo:
another term for your father's younger brother's wife, or the wife of a younger distant male relation of your father

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