Bittna Lee/ At the Edge of the World/ ISS 2016

At the Edge of the World is a short story written by Krys Lee, a Korean-American author. The novel is about a smart but a unique 9 year old boy Mark Lee, also known as Myeongseok Lee, and his family living in the United States. They were one of the few North Korean immigrants that the States let in. Although Mark's family looks like a typical family of immigrant in the US, his family is not a traditional family. Mark's father is not his biological father. Mark's mother conceived him by a Chinese farmer she was sold to when she was 16. Mark is very well aware of this fact and this sometimes made him insecure. His bully at school would say that Mark's father couldn't really love him because he wasn't his real father. However, what I have learnt from this story is that family is family, no matter what shapes and sizes they come in.  

 

In the story we can see that the father is very supportive of what Mark says. He also does not want to deter Mark's curiosity. Whenever Mark asks question such as how bad the North Korean dictator Kim Jung-un is his father would try to answer him opposed to his mother who thought these questions are inappropriate. Also, when their new neighbour introduced herself as a shaman, Mark asked "What does a shaman do?" His mother, who is a devoted Christian, said, "Keep quiet!" Whereas his father said, "He's just curious." We can also see the fathers affection towards his son when Mark says " I'm going to be a heart surgeon and buy Omma and Appa a house in Beverley hills." and the father responds by saying "It's good to have a son!", while cutting him the best slice of cake. (p.30)

 

We can see how the father thinks of Mark when he is fighting with his wife. The mother and the father was in a big argument because the father had engaged in Shamanism in an attempt to see his dead brother who he misses dearly. The mother said she was not going to let her son be infected by his inability to live in the present. When Mark tried to make peace between his parents, his mother said, "Don't protect him. He's not even your biological father." When the father heard this, he got extremely upset and said, "He's my son, too. That's what we agreed. We mad this family together…" (p.43) I think if I were the child, I would have been deeply hurt by what the mother said if it wasn't for the father.

 

Although we can see that the father loves Mark very much, it mentions that the father does not express his affections with words like I love you or Sarang hae. (p.41) However, at the end of the book Mark's father said "Mani Sarang handa", I love you very much to Mark. He also hugged Mark and stayed tight around his neck and shoulders. (p.49) I think this might have not been easy for the father if he is more used to a traditional father figure. It was nice to see him stepping out of his comfort zone to show his love for his son.

In conclusion, I believe it is evident to the readers that the father loves Mark and that his feelings are genuine. In the begging of the book, I doubted the father's affection for Mark because he is a step-father. Nevertheless, the reading proved me wrong and I am glad it did. I feel that this is an important lesson, especially in the modern society where there are various forms of family, that it is a true family, regardless of blood, when the family members love each other. I think blood is thicker than water does not apply anymore.

Bittna Lee