I'm not writing necessarily for an audience. I think about the audience at the end, once I have a complete book. But, when I'm writing it, I really need to feel like I'm learning, and I'm investigating something that I'm personally interested in.

My grandmother lived under Japanese colonial rule until she was nine. Korea, still united and whole, was colonized in 1910. During this period of forced occupation, Japanese teachers taught Korean students how to view the world through their imperialist language, their history, their foreign tongue.

Summer in Seoul is full of thick heat that clings to your neck, the back of your knees.

When I was in the second grade, I learned that I looked different from my classmates.