Pak Yoo

Pak Yoo is the patriarch of the Yoo family. Pak remained in Korea and sent his wife and daughter to America in pursuit of a better life for them. He had hoped to get a family visa fairly quickly, however the process took four years. In the interim, he worked all of the time and was considered a "wild-goose father" in Korea. The term was originally coined to capture the process of fathers migrating back and forth to see their families in America, but Pak could not afford travel. Pak grew up in a poor village, and he feels "beneath" his wife as a result if his impoverished upbringing (179). Young grew up in Seoul, with amenities such as indoor plumbing and central heating. Pak appears closer to their daughter Mary, and Young is convinced it is because Pak is symbolic of their life in Korea, which Mary...