Loved this atmospheric, history-infused novel of the Koreas and Japan. The storyline was really gripping, and this is one of the books that keep living in your head rent-free a long time after you have finished reading it.

My thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC of this novel.

This three-part story opens in Pyongyang province in northern Korea in 1928, more than 20 years after the brutal Japanese colonization. The main character, Miyoung, is a tough eleven year old girl who lives in a poor rural village with her ailing mother and teenaged half sister. She surveys her world from her favourite position atop a white mulberry tree. And on this particular August day, her world is about to change abruptly.

The incident that changes Miyoung’s fate is the arrival of a Korean electrician, purportedly to measure their farm for electrification. Her beautiful sister immediately catches his eye, and he suggests to their mother that she would make an excellent wife for his brother, a wealthy electrician working in Japan. None of that is true, but Bohbeh has no say in the matter, and soon she must leave.

Miyoung is destined for a similar fate, but her mother is proud of her high standing in primary school, and her father is persuaded to let her stay until she is 13, which is all she can afford, despite her longing to go to secondary school and become a teacher. When they discover that she can attend middle school in Japan without paying fees, her sister returns to take her to her home in Japan.

What follows is a very moving story about adversity, deprivation and racist discrimination faced by the Korean community in Japan. The impending war and the Japanese commitment to domination of the Pacific merely heightens the intensity. Miyoung becomes Miyoko, hiding her identity to survive. She does not achieve her dream of teaching, but trains as a nurse-midwife, converts to Christianity, becomes involved with Korean activist, and bears a son. And she discovers that, despite her every attempt to become Japanese, her Korean origins call back to her again and again. Her need to be true to herself compels her to make decisions that come at high costs. Always, her memories of the white mulberry resurface, representing her quiet endurance.

The author’s epilogue reveals that Miyoung’s story is a fictionalized account of her grandmother’s life, as told to her as a young child after her family emigrated to the United States when she was 8. I’m sure that the ‘realness’ of this account is explained by the sort of feeling that comes of such emotional connection. World-historic events are told through great men and their doings, but they are lived by ordinary people whose stories seldom go beyond family lore. Miyoung’s story is captured with love and respect in this novel, and serves as a tribute to all those that are lost.

At the start of the book, we are introduced to Miyoung and her family. When we first meet her, she is just a kid who loves to study and she wishes that her sister, Bohbeh need not be married off to Japan. Unfortunately, education is not common for girls and she barely manages to convince her father to allow her to continue her studies before she follows her sister’s footsteps.

Eventually, Miyoung follows her older sister Bohbeh to Kyoto to continue her education in hopes of a better life. As we follow Miyoung’s journey, we get to experience life through her eyes as a foreigner in Japan, as a female who is seeking education and as a girl growing up to become a woman.

Throughout her life, various people influence her in different ways such as teacher Kim, Yamamoto-sensei and her sister Bohbeh. The story is inspired by the author’s grandmother’s true story and gives us a glimpse into the past. I enjoyed my time delving into the past as I journeyed with Miyoung through her various tribulations while she continues trusting and hoping that things will turn better.

DNF 12%

I was intrigued by the premise of this historical novel but unfortunately I was not connecting with the writing style. I have no doubt that other readers will find this novel immensely enjoyable.

I loved this work of historical fiction, revealing so much about the Japanese occupation of Korea, forcing many to hide their Korean identity and culture. Miyoung is upset when her sister, Bohbeh, leaves their small Korean village with the promise of a good life in Japan. Miyoung was not to know how her sister was tricked, and is sent by their mother to join her sister. Facing the terrible treatment of Koreans in Japan, Miyoung, now known as Miyoko, passes as Japanese to survive and hopefully fulfill her dream of an education. The characters of Miyoung and Bohbeh are strong women fighting for their survival in hostile circumstances. I highly recommend this well written and meaningful novel. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I think I enjoyed the storyline more than the actual writing, which fell flat at times. But this book sheds a lot of light on the life of Koreans in Japan at a certain time in history and it is worthwhile, even if just for that reason. I love that it is based on the author's family and my biggest issue is that I want to know the rest of the story! I do hope that the author is working on a follow-up.
This would be an excellent choice for a book group as there is plenty to discuss be it culture, family, relationships etc.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I want to read more!

Rosa Kwon Easton’s White Mulberry is a work of pre-WWII historical fiction set in Korea and Japan. It follows Miyoung (or Miyoko as she is later called in Japan) from the Pyongan Province in northern Korea to Japan. Miyoung is 11 years old when the story first starts and lives with her mother and older sister. Within just a few chapters, the reader watches as Miyoung must say goodbye to her sister because Bohbeh is promised in marriage to a Korean living in Japan. This is the first of many times Miyoung experiences loss in this book.

Miyoung wants an education, not an arranged marriage. Because she is such a strong student, her elementary school teacher recommends that Miyoung attend free public school in Japan. Her mother, who recognizes Miyoung’s promise, agrees to let her go. At only 13 years old, she boards the train and travels away from everything she knows in hopes of a better life in Kyoto.

The author paints a picture in broad strokes of Japanese-occupied Korea in the late 1920s through the early 1940s. The story also shows the discrimination Miyoung faces as a Korean immigrant in Kyoto. Miyoung felt like she had to hide her Korean identity in order to avoid being harassed at school and shunned in the Japanese community. Miyoung learns to keep others at arm’s length to protect herself from the pain of loss: losing friends and family, losing opportunities, losing a bit of herself. Miyoung’s character is one of a brave, self-sacrificing, and resilient young woman.

Rose Kwon Easton tells the reader that Miyoung’s story is inspired by the true tale of her Korean grandmother. The author researched her family history and listened to the stories of her grandmother in preparation for this book. She states that, at first, she wanted to write her grandmother’s story as a biography. However, after her grandmother passed away in 2012, Kwon Easton decided that she wanted to explore the story through fiction.

Hearing my relatives’ stories, and reflecting on my own, raised questions: What happens to the self when you leave someplace, and what self do you meet in the new? What self do you sacrifice?
When I read the author’s note about the story’s inspiration, the writing style made a bit more sense. In this book, Kwon Easton is not highly descriptive. The sequence of events in the narrative moved quickly and, at many points, hurriedly. While reading it, the story felt very much like I was being told about someone’s life rather than invited into a connection with the characters. With the exception of Miyoung, the motivations and thinking behind the characters’ behaviors are largely unexplored. Even the dialogue felt unnatural in its flow and word choice.

This story had a lot of promise. The writing was just not as natural or as nuanced as some of the other historical fiction stories I’ve read and, so, I had a difficult time connecting with Miyoung as a character and with the book in general.

Eleven year old Miyoung leaves Korea to live in Japan with her old sister. To survive and thrive in the anti-Korean territory, she passed as Japanese but fears her true identity slipping every day.

I didn’t realize until the author’s note at the end that this was a true story of her grandmother! It was a fascinating tale and shed light on the Japanese occupation of Korea, something I knew little about. If you enjoy stories about women ahead of their times, and introductions to new cultures, this is a great one. Definitely read the author’s note at the end because it is very informative and brings the story to true life.

White Mulberry came out 12/1 and is available now.

White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton was a captivating historical fiction.
Very well written it makes you feel all the emotions and turmoil of this characters time period and the people living through such times.
I was left wanting more. Inspired but true events this story is full of experience, emotion and resilience.

This girl called Mayo. U. NG was amazing how she had to survive in this book.. I can't believe all the hardship.This woman went through as a woman and as a young girl. She was very smart and people really didn't understand her. They had a lot of customs and stuff as well. Her sister went to japan to marry a man who thought was very wealthy but he wasn't. She had to go to japan because she did not have money to go to school in korea. She went to Japan to be with her sister.But she faced many obstacles because they do not want them there. She learned to have a new identity as being in Japan.But she felt lost because she had to give up her korean way of thinking. She will also want to church which was very dangerous because the japanese army do not want them to be there. Her heart was Broken many times B y two men. One of them she ended up marrying because she became pregnant but he soon died after they were married. This woman had a lot of courage because she had to leave her son behind 22 become a nurse because she had to support him and send money back to his family. We're close to our sister. This woman had a lot of courage because she had to go through a lot of hardships but things seemed to come out in the end. I could not imagine living under one name and then another name because you had to just work. Just during the thirties when japan was at war with a lot of countries. This is.
A really good book. I think it should be read in history and english because it can tide into things which were going on and create as will.. Korea was under Japan rule until afterward too.And it was like thirty years and they went through a lot of hardships because the K, o, R, e.N.
Do not want the japanese to be there. This is like a love story.History book all rolled into one

Following in the path of White Chrysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht, MiJa by Mark Atkinson and Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, we have another novel set during Japan’s occupation of Korea in the 1930s and 1940s. And this is a period where there’s plenty of drama to sustain many more historical novels. Our story here follows Miyoung, a Korean girl, who’s clever and wants an education - her father disagrees and wants her married off. Her mother arranges for her to go to Japan and stay with her elder sister who’s married a Japanese man. There, she encounters severe racism by the Japanese towards the Koreans. She decides to adopt a Japanese name and pass as Japanese which means always speaking Japanese in public, taking a different name, wearing different clothes and eating different food. Having discounted love, she then meets Hojoon and things begin to change in her life.

Like other reviewers, there were a few places with too much repetition but the period is evoked and the use of lots of Korean terms is a good way to highlight the differences between the Japanese and Korean cultures.

Worth reading and I look forward to the sequel. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

This book observes the issues of racist discrimination, colonialism and the patriarchy. It is a story about a Korean woman who moves to Japan.

If you have read or watched 'Pachinko,' 'White Mulberry' is another novel that explores the same themes but with different characters.

This book highlights the prejudice faced by Koreans in pre war Japan. It is a very personal story based on the experience of a relative of the author and portrays the resilience in the face of grief of a young mother. I would have liked a broader sweep of information about Korea and Japan. Instead this book was focused heavily on h9me life and the feelings of the lead character. The ending in particular details a remarkable experience and made for a tension filled ending.

**SPOILERS**

Rosa Kwon Easton’s debut novel, White Mulberry, is a deeply moving tale of resilience, identity, and survival set in Japan-occupied Korea. It follows Mi Young, a young Korean girl whose name “beauty” and “brave” in translation, perfectly embodies her character.

Mi Young grows up in a fractured family, with an absentee father who has another family and a half sister, Bohbeh, who is married off at the young age of 15. Her sister’s arranged marriage, orchestrated to a supposedly wealthy man in Kyoto, ends with Bohbeh disappearing from Mi Young’s life.

As Mi Young approaches adolescence, she finds herself facing a similar fate. The same “matchmaker” suggests she marry the school bully. Mi Young is horrified by this idea and dreams of a different path for her life. She becomes inspired by her unmarried Christian english teacher, seeing that life has more paths than marriage. So she begins secretly attending church. There, she encounters ideas of gender equality and a new vision of the world, one where she might escape the rigid expectations of marriage. However, her mother soon catches her and forbids her from attending, closing off this glimmer of hope.

Fate intervenes when Mi Young’s engagement is called off. The bully’s family needs him to work in a coal factory to support their finances. Mi Young is relieved and moves to Kyoto, where she reunites with Bohbeh. However, the reunion is bittersweet. Bohbeh’s husband, who lied about his wealth and status, is a terrible and abusive man.

Mi Young’s life in Kyoto isn’t much easier. Facing relentless bullying and prejudice for being Korean, she adopts a Japanese identity, renaming herself Miyoko to blend in and survive. This erasure of her true self weighs heavily on her. As anti-Korean sentiment intensifies, Miyoko secretly resumes attending church, where she falls in love with an activist. Their love brings her joy and a baby, but tragedy strikes when he dies of health complications.

Despite the hardships, Mi Young finds purpose as a nurse and eventually as a midwife. Her life as a mother, however, is far from ideal, as her son spends much of his childhood with her mother-in-law. The story takes a dramatic turn when Miyoko is conscripted as a war nurse, a likely death sentence. Determined to protect her son and reclaim her life, she bravely plans a daring escape from Japan back to Korea.

I truly loved White Mulberry because I deeply empathized with Mi Young’s character. As the youngest in my family, I related to her experience of watching her sisters leave one by one and losing touch with them once they were gone. Like Mi Young, I also believe marriage isn’t the only path in life. Reading this book on my flight to Japan and train ride to Kyoto made me feel even more connected to her journey. It was as if I was right there with her!

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction that explores themes of identity, resilience, and cultural conflict. It’s a beautifully written story that captures the struggles and strength of a young woman navigating a turbulent time in history. I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. I think it ended too abruptly. Thank you netgalley and publishers for the e-copy of the book.

White Mulberry
Rosa Kwon Easton

I am such a K-drama fan, even before Kdramas became a worldwide thing. I was one of those who stayed up all night and collected DVDs just to binge-watch Korean dramas and movies. This was way way pre-Covid! One of my favorite genres is the Sageuk (historical/traditional drama). In fact, my all time favorite is the Mr. Sunshine and I love Jewel in the Palace too! So when I saw White Mulberry and read the description on Netgalley, I immediately hit the request button. I just needed to read this!

The story, set during the Japanese occupation in Korea, is about Miyoung, a smart Korean girl who loves to study and dreamed of becoming a teacher one day. Unfortunately during this period in Korea, women were only expected to marry and take care of the family, thus their education was not a priority. In order for her to continue her studies, she had to leave her family in Korea behind and move to Japan with her older sister. The life that greeted her in Japan was not what she thought it would be, and she had to face the harsh reality of living there as a Korean woman.

I really love this book! I like every bit of it. Every detail was well delivered. It's as if I was watching a K-drama. There are a lot of things I love about this book, but I will highlight the following:

1. Role of Christianity during this period - I appreciate that this aspect was included in the book as religious groups particularly, Christianity,really did play a role during this period in Korea.
2. Changing names and passing off as Japanese - totally understandable as one has got to do whatever it takes to survive.
3. Nursing!!! - This was an unexpected part, but I was so glad to learn about how Koreans worked as nurses during the occupation. The part where Miyoung delivered health care services was also a favorite of mine. It brought me back to the time when I was still working as a nurse.

The best thing about this book though was the reason why the author wrote it. This book was inpired by the real-life experiences of the author's grandmother! I was deeply touched by the Author's Note.

I highly recommend this book. If you love Pachinko, I think you will like this book more. It's easy to read and the pacing is just right. White Mulberry is set to be released on December 1st so be sure to grab a copy! I got the ARC from Netgalley and the Kindle version from Amazon already, but I for sure will get the printed one once it's out in the market!

WHITE MULBERRY - ROSA KWON EASTON

When this book first popped up on my radar, it was being likened to Pachinko, which is one of my all-time favourite books. I couldn't wait to start reading White Mulberry; here's a quick synopsis:

1928, Japan-occupied Korea. Eleven-year-old Miyoung has dreams too big for her tiny farming village: to become a teacher, to avoid an arranged marriage, to write her own future. When she is offered the chance to live with her older sister in Japan and continue her education, she is elated, even though it means leaving her sick mother - and her very name - behind.

Taking readers from Korea to Japan, we follow Miyoung as she faces a harsh reality in Japan, where her Korean heritage means that she's bullied and has far fewer opportunities available to her. She takes the brave choice to adopt a Japanese name and finds that more doors open to her - but at a cost.

That's because White Mulberry is a novel about identity, showing Miyoung feeling increasingly uncomfortable as she's forced to hide her Korean origins, and what that means the longer she stays in Japan.

But there's much more to this historical fiction; the writing is beautiful and sensory, bringing Miyoung's surroundings to life in such a vivid way. Her story is an emotional one - how can it not be - so be prepared to feel happy, heartbroken and frustrated as you watch her grow into a young woman who has to make very difficult decisions.

I won't forget this book for a long time, and neither will you. Thank you to the author, NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Release date: 1 December 2024

Review score: 4/5

TWs: d*ath, illness, bullying, discrimination

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read White Mulberry. This was a beautiful story about a woman who faces many heartbreaking events with resiliency. This was a part of history that I know little about, I was saddened by Miyoung's plight and for each circumstance that she had to overcome.

white mulberry, a tragic yet hopeful story set in pre-ww2 korea and japan, about a young girl learning to dream and to love in a cruel, unaccepting place, and her journey of coming home. the tragedy of minyoung's life and her resilience against all odds made this book feel like a kristin hannah novel, though the writing wasn't quite as enchanting as hannah's to me.

thank you so much to netgalley, lake union, and the author for the advanced copy!

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton is a third person-POV historical taking place during the Japanese occupation of the Koreas in the early twentieth century. Miyoung’s older sister is arranged to marry a Korean man in Japan, foreshadowing her own future in Japan in just a few years to further her education. She meets Hojoon, a young Korean-Japanese man who is passionate about politics and the treatment of Koreans in Japan.

One thing I really appreciated was that Miyoung is North Korean and highlighting a few differences between her culture and language and those of South Koreans even before the two split into separate countries. Very often, when we talk about North Korea, we’re talking about the Korean War and the modern situation, so I liked seeing a viewpoint from before then. What makes this even more special is that Rosa Kwon Easton essentially fictionalized her grandmother’s history and tried to stay as true to her grandmother’s story as possible, which helps add the life of North Korean women forced into impossible situations in WWII to the growing stable of literature coming out of the Korean diaspora.

I loved how the book opens with Miyoung so afraid of marriage and so determined to become a teacher and how her plans changed over time but she also never loses sight of her ultimate goal which is to help others and be happy. A lot of people have that very goal but how it is shaped changes as new interests and knowledge and experiences enter their lives. Miyoung’s emotional journey feels so real and layered and we get to see her go on this journey over less than a decade as the world around her only gets more and more hostile, but she still refuses to completely give in even if she makes some concessions.

I’ve done a lot of research into WWII, particularly in the Pacific (fun fact: in Japan, it’s not called WWII, it’s called The Pacific War because that’s where they focused their attention) and this felt so incredibly well-researched. Usually, if I know a lot about a subject, I can find something that isn’t accurate but helps make for a better story, but I didn’t find that here. Churches being shut down because they felt too closely tied to Americans, distrust of Christians, Koreans carrying around cards identifying themselves in Japan but still taking Japanese names to hide in plain sight, and more all either matched research I have done, what I have heard from people who have more knowledge than I do on the subject, or in-line with what I know of the time period and setting and the history of Christianity in Japan (which, there is a long one).

Content warning for anti-Korean sentiments

I would recommend this to fans of historical fiction set in WWII in East Asia, readers looking for a book focusing on a North Korean woman during WWII, and those who are interested in the more recent history of the relationship between Japan and the Koreas

I've been watching the second season of Pachinko lately and so when I read White Mulberry, I noticed the overlap between the two. Like in Pachinko, the main character, Miyoung, leaves her mother behind in Japan-occupied Korea in order to pursue different opportunities in Japan. There, she encounters anti-Korean sentiment, but also finds community within the church. Her tenacity keeps her moving forward and I wish the book had not ended when it had because I would have liked to learn what was in store for her and her son.