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GO (2000)
My Rating *****
In GO, Kazuki Kaneshiro attempts to entertain Japanese readers, while introducing them to the struggles that Korean-Japanese face in their everyday lives. In the first chapter, he introduces the historical background of anti-Korean discrimination, and through the struggles of the main character, he considers how discrimination shapes identity.
The novel touches on a wide range of issues, including the role of the two Korean-affiliated support groups, Chongryun (North Korea) and Mindan (South Korea); alien registration and fingerprinting; job discrimination; police harassment; ethnic Koreans' use of Japanese names; "passing" as Japanese; bullying of young Korean girls wearing traditional Korean attire; Confucian attitudes in ethnic Korean society; ethnic Korean schools; and discrimination within the Korean community.
With its overt attack on the various forms of discrimination against ethnic Koreans in Japan, the novel cannot avoid being political, but Kaneshiro avoids being didactic by filtering the information through the witty and caustic commentary of Sugihara, the rowdy Korean-Japanese hero. Kaneshiro has said that he wrote the novel in an entertaining style, partly in reaction to past Korean-Japanese fiction, which he feels does not reflect the experiences of the younger generation. He points out that much of that fiction has assumed an understanding of Korean-Japanese society that most Japanese lack.
Kaneshiro views ethnic identity not so much as a group struggle but as an individual one. Instead of working within Chongryun society or with other Korean-Japanese groups to battle prejudice, Sugihara opts to fight discrimination entirely on his own: usually by punching out "challengers" that attack him but also by educating himself as to the causes and results of discrimination. Intelligent and physically powerful, he is portrayed as a superhuman hero doing solitary battle against all odds. Indeed, one might argue that such an approach is beyond ordinary Korean-Japanese.
In an interview, Kaneshiro responsed to this criticism by saying: "I am a novelist, not an activist, and it is my job to give illusion." In other words, he hopes to inspire ordinary Korean-Japanese through his portrayal of Sugihara. Just the same, Kaneshiro does not categorically deny the importance of Chongryun and other political groups, and it is clear that his hero has been shaped--and strengthened--by his association with Chongryun and individuals dedicated to the group. Educated in the Chongryun school system, Sugihara has learned Korean history, the Korean language, and about the "Great Leader," Kim Il Sung. Other than Sakurai, the mysterious Japanese girl he meets at a party, all of his friends are Korean-Japanese. His decision to break free from this supportive but restrictive world requires courage and determination.
In this way, Kaneshiro aims to replace the old strict terms of identification with a more open-ended view of identity that begins with the individual. As Sugihara says, "I'm gonna destroy national boundaries." The "boundaries" being referred to include not only overt barriers to social inclusion, such as laws concerning nationality and the treatment of foreigners, but also more covert forms of racism, such as the view that Korean-Japanese are mere "residents" who will one day leave the country. Perhaps the most difficult "boundary" to eliminate is the close-minded attitude that prevents people from accepting minorities.
Kaneshiro does not limit his critique to Japanese, however, and suggests that the Chongryun community has also adopted an exclusivist view of identity. By insisting on a blind loyalty to the Chongryun leadership and treating all those that leave the community as traitors, Korean-Japanese have counterproductively granted validity to differences that should be questioned. In Kaneshiro's view, this ignorant belief in exclusivist categories sustains racism, for only by challenging these categories can individuals becomes free.
Sugihara, by breaking out of his limited environment and entering Japanese society, begins a new journey of discovery. His relationship with Sakurai represents a more sincere involvement with Japanese society. Although he at first hides his identity from Sakurai, he realizes that an authentic relationship requires openness and acceptance. Sakurai's final acceptance of Sugihara is based on a view of him not as a Korean resident but as a unique individual. The end of the novel represents Kaneshiro's idealistic hope that Japan--like Sakurai--will accept Korean residents as individuals.
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