1917, the last days of the reign of King Eojong
Woman in the mirror, man in the photo
Aloha, Powa
May Brides
foundation of life
People who left
Ewa Cemetery
tidings
1919
Honolulu Wind
A wandering life
Upper town, lower town
Wahiawa's Rainbow
Pandora's box
My moms

Author's Note
References

An amazing story that started from a single photo,
A page of modern and contemporary history we didn't know about

How did the story of the women who crossed the Pacific to Hawaii come about in a time when even going to the market alone was difficult? "Aloha, My Mothers" began with a single photograph.
While reading a book about the 100-year history of Korean immigration to the Americas, author Lee Geum-i came across a photograph of three women with young-looking faces wearing white cotton skirts and jackets.
It contained a breathless story of a woman that warmed the heart, like “an old future that has already arrived,” both unfamiliar and familiar.
The story of first-generation Hawaiian women, who had been left out of mainstream history written from a male perspective and centered on the victors, was a meaningful discovery in itself.
It was a page of history that was not even carefully introduced in textbooks.

The protagonist of "Aloha, My Mothers" is eighteen-year-old Willow, who lives in a small village in Gimhae, Gyeongsang Province during the Japanese colonial period.
Her father lost his life while fighting against the Japanese, and her mother raised her and her younger brothers alone.
Despite being of noble birth, Beoldeul is unable to go to school or study like her male brothers because she is a woman.
Then one day, a matchmaker's voice is heard recommending a photo wedding.
Picture marriage is a custom that occurred during the Japanese colonial period when Korean women exchanged photos with Koreans living in Hawaii and got married.
Women in their 10s and 20s who choose a photo wedding are called photo brides.

The photo brides boarded an immigrant ship to Hawaii, dreaming of a better life. The author gave them the names Willow, Hongju, and Songhwa.
Three friends leave their parents behind in their hometown and bravely cross the Pacific Ocean in search of a better life, each meeting a different fate.
Hong-ju, who dreams of a marriage like free love, meets a husband who looks 20 years older in real life than in pictures, and Song-hwa, who dreams of a new life, escaping from her status as the granddaughter of a shaman grandmother who was looked down on, also meets a lazy and alcoholic husband.
Unlike them, Willow meets Tae-wan, a twenty-six-year-old man who looks exactly like the one in the photo.

A new discovery of a brilliantly portrayed female-centered community.
Consideration, harmony, joy, hospitality… the spirit of Aloha we need.

However, the excitement of meeting a new spouse and getting married in a faraway foreign land is short-lived.
Tae-wan, who still harbors the memory of his first love, cannot easily open his heart to Willow.
Moreover, Hong-ju, a dependable friend who came a long way from her hometown, leaves for another region.
Willow is severely discriminated against by white managers on sugarcane farms, and is also persecuted by the Japanese because he is a fellow immigrant worker and a colonial Korean.
Willow, who wanted to send the money he earned from working in Hawaii back home and also study, faces a difficult and arduous life as an immigrant.

The people Willow can rely on are the immigrant women around her who are in similar situations to her.
From Julie's mother, who settled down early, to Hong-ju, who sends letters to update her on her current situation whenever she misses her, to Song-hwa, who has a pure heart and is not swayed by the world, the female characters in "Aloha, My Mothers" help each other and become family.
After reading to the end where an unexpected secret is revealed, you will once again think about what it means to be a family, a woman, and a mother.
The heartfelt voices of the protagonists, who have taken root in a foreign land and practiced love and solidarity, still ring in my ears even after I close the book.

“The word ‘Aloha’, which we hear everywhere, is not just a simple greeting.
It was a word created from the first letters of Hawaiian words meaning consideration, harmony, joy, humility, and patience.
“The greeting contained the spirit of the native Hawaiians to love, care for, respect, and share joy together.”
_From "Pandora's Box" on page 365

What gives birth to love and what nurtures humanity?
I feel like I've been given a Hawaiian lei, a symbol of hospitality, by women who have taken root in a foreign land and are living in their own way.
Park Seo-ryeon (writer)

Exciting, immersive gameplay and vivid details that you won't be able to put down.
An outstanding achievement in a novel that will reach a wide audience.

"Aloha, My Mothers" has a powerful story that can be read in one breath.
Not only does the story of the main characters Willow, Hongju, and Songhwa unfold in a movie-like, exciting way, but it also includes the division of the Korean independence group within the Hawaiian Korean community and vivid and detailed descriptions of Hawaii during the Japanese colonial period over a hundred years ago.

It was a gripping narrative that could be read in one sitting, and a vivid, heart-wrenching, family drama of a matriarch.
As you follow the fate of the main characters, you finally meet the pioneers of the times and the pioneers of destiny.
Kim Min-sik (PD, writer)

Reading "Aloha, My Mothers" means looking into the past we didn't know about and reflecting on the present of 2020, a year rife with discrimination and hatred.
This work allows one to experience both the fun of a long novel with high readability and immersion, and the beautiful meaning of solidarity.

The 300 pre-readers' review group gave rave reviews.

“It was clearly written in letters, but it was incredibly immersive, like watching a movie.” @dark******
"How did I manage to read 400 pages in one day? I couldn't put the book down." @boy*****
“I couldn’t fall asleep right away even in the late morning because of the lingering aftertaste and my eyes getting blurry.” @basti*****
“I wish life was as sweet as sugar cane, but (…) after being so hurt that I was veiled, this work shows their determination to maturely accept the upcoming trials without fear.” @zeni******
“How long has it been since I started reading that my eyes are red and my nose is stinging?
“Willow, willow.” @erin*****
“Amazing immersion, this is real.” @jeong********
“Instead of hugging and crying, they chose to laugh it off.” @bohem*******a
“I can’t even begin to fathom the heart of mothers who had to grit their teeth and build a foundation for their children even when the world turned its back on them.” @rosal********