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= If You Leave Me = If You Leave Me (2018) is author, Crystal Hana Kim’s, debut novel that has been recognized as one of the best books of the year by The Washington Post, ALA Booklist, and others. This historical fiction novel takes place during the Korean War and focuses around the life of a refugee, Haemi Lee, and her family.

Synopsis
Haemi Lee, a refugee of the Korean War is forced to move to Busan with her mother and younger brother, Hyunki, who suffers from a severe illness. As she settles into her daily life in a new home, she comes across her childhood friend and love interest, Kyunghwan. As they spend time together and work to rekindle their friendship, Haemi finds her feelings growing for him and decides she wants her relationship with him to evolve further. However, for the sake of her family’s well-being and economic stability, she decides to marry Jisoo, Kyunghwan’s cousin, who comes from a wealthy family and is able to provide medicine for Hyunki. Jisoo, satisfied with creating a family to come back to, enlists in the army. Kyunghwan also decides to enlist, leaving Haemi and her family alone for two years. Haemi, bored with her routine life, begins to work for a nearby hospital as an assistant to the nurses and helps wounded soldiers and prisoners of war. Towards the end of the war, she is given the opportunity to move back to her childhood hometown and decides to settle down there. Jisoo comes back home to live with Haemi and together they have their first child, Solee. Hoping to have a son, Jisoo pressures Haemi to have another child. Following the birth of their second daughter, Jieun, Haemi is continually pressured to have more children, causing her mental and physical health to gradually worsen. She begins to regret not pursuing her feelings for Kyunghwan but tries her best to maintain the nurture the family she and Jisoo have created together.

Haemi’s family life begins to worsen as she does not receive kindness from her husband, which further increases her unhappiness with her responsibilities as a wife and mother. She takes care of her girls and works at an orphanage to get away from her mundane housewife role. Haemi is left behind by the people who have supported her throughout her life when her mother dies and Hyunki moves to live in Seoul. When Haemi tries to receive support from the people around her but is unable to become important in their lives, her mental health deteriorates into a state of no return. Jisoo takes the family on vacation to Busan, the place they called home as refugees which Haemi dislikes. This causes conflict and leads to an abrupt ending to their trip. They return home and Haemi continues to struggle with depression. She decides to commit suicide and allows her memories to live through the lives of her four daughters.

Characters

 * Haemi Lee is the main character and the story focuses around her growth and journey through life. As a child, she provides for her family and later for her own family as a mother and wife. Haemi cannot forget her feelings for her childhood friend Kyunghwan and this poses problems throughout her life.


 * Yun Jisoo is Kyunghwan’s cousin and Haemi’s wife. Growing up in Busan, he falls in love with Haemi and is determined to start a family with her. Jisoo’s struggles through the war and his experiences lead him to feel insecure and doubt his wife’s fidelity.


 * Kyunghwan is the son of an alcoholic and childhood friends with Haemi. He stays close to her throughout her life and continues to be her love interest.


 * Hyunki is Haemi’s younger brother and suffers from an illness that prevents him from going to school from an early age. Hyunki is very close to his sister growing up and becomes close to his brother-in-law, Jisoo, and his nieces.
 * Mother is Haemi and Hyunki’s mother who is having a hard time getting over the death of her husband. She helps support Haemi and Hyunki and makes decisions for the well-being of her family.

Themes
The novel discusses themes including the role of women in East Asian society and the increase of gender inequality during times of war. The author, Crystal Hana Kim, intends to question the acceptance of technological advances and how fast these changes should take the place of traditional ideas during a time of occupation.

Historical Context
This novel takes place during the Korean War and begins in the year of 1951. This war took place between North and South Korea, each having their own supporting countries. North Korea was supported by Communist China and the Soviet Union, while South Korea was supported by the UN, United States of America, and Japan.

Through the war, the United States was able to extend their military power across South Korea. This point is important to the novel as it discusses the influence of technology and the introduction of new culture into Korean society. Additionally, the refugees who were forced to move down south to avoid the war were displaced from their homes and begin a new life. When they returned to their hometowns, they dealt with the foreign influence that had taken place during their time away.