Ann Y. K. Choi is a Toronto-based author and educator. Her novel, Kay’s Lucky Coin Variety, was shortlisted for the Toronto Book Award. She teaches creative writing at the University of Toronto, School of Continuing Studies, and mentors emerging writers in a group she founded called Writers in Trees.
Pachinko meets Beasts of a Little Land in this stunning, evocative tale, set in 1920s Korea, of one seemingly ordinary woman—an uneducated villager living under Japanese occupation—who takes control of her own destiny and rises to become an advocate for women’s literacy as a force for change.
Interviewed by Judith Appleby
Judith Appleby (JA): In the Author’s Note you talk about your great-grandmother and what a wonderful storyteller she was. Aside from the story taking place at a time when she was young, are there any other ways that Na-Young – or any other character – mirror your great-grandmother’s life? What about your grandmothers’ or mother’s?
Ann Y.K. Choi (AYKC): I wrote the book because I wanted to learn about Korean history and focused on the time my great-grandmother lived in to understand that period in a more personal and intimate way. The women on my mother’s side had huge entrepreneurial ambitions despite the societal norms that prevented female entrepreneurs from reaching their financial goals and potential. At a time when working outside the house was uncommon, both my great-grandmother and grandmother found opportunities for themselves. The inspiration for my protagonist, Na-Young, working at the teahouse was drawn from my great-grandmother’s experience running a restaurant. My grandmother worked as a hairstylist and eventually went on to open the first beauty school in her province. My mother immigrated to Canada and worked in different variety stores for thirty years – she was always proud to be her own boss. I have to say, I’m deeply proud of the women in my family for having challenged the common portrayal of women as unskilled and incapable of navigating the male-dominated world of business. But they didn’t do it alone. Lady Boss, Na-Young’s employer, reminds Na-Young of this when she says that women need other women to survive.
JA: Setting takes on an almost character-like role in this story. Village, Town, City, and countryside are described in vivid detail. Did you travel to Korea specifically to do research for the book, or were you relying on memories of past times there? Can you talk about your experiences there that influenced this book?
AYKC: In 2016, my mother, daughter and I travelled to many of the locations mentioned in the novel so I could get a greater sense of each place. At one point, my daughter and I ventured deep into the mountains. I wanted to get a sense of what my protagonist, Na-Young, might have gone through when she ran away into the mountains. At first, we were in awe. Our surroundings were breathtaking, but reality hit us hard – the heat was oppressive and the bugs were fierce. We had to tread carefully as fallen branches, twigs, and thorns from plants scratched at our arms and legs. We even feared that we were truly lost! My daughter, who was 16 at the time, said, “No book is worth this!”
We still have family living in Daegeori, the village setting that begins and ends the book, and the town, Anyang, where newly married Na-Young learns to read and write. One of the most horrific places we visited was Seodaemun Prison where real-life sixteen-year-old Yu Gwan-Sun and thousands of others were tortured and killed fighting for Korea’s freedom under Japan’s occupation. Learning more about the prison and what took place behind its walls made me want to make it one of the central focuses for the novel.
JA: There are several surprise plot twists in the story – every time I thought I knew where it was going, you threw in another curve. Without spoiling the story for readers who weren’t lucky enough to get an advance copy, can you talk about your planning process? Were those plot twists in your head when you first started to conceive the story, or did you develop them along the way?
AYKC: My initial vision for the novel was simple – I even used my great-grandmother’s real name and wrote from the 1st person point-of-view, although I knew it would be a work of fiction. The story took place over three seasons: summer, winter, and fall. My editor at that time suggested I rewrite the novel in 3rd person as she felt I was too close to my protagonist. It took two years, but she was right. The 3rd person narration created a distance that sparked more creative storytelling. Unfortunately, that editor retired before I could finish the revisions. I ended up working with three other editors after that (one editor got promoted and the editor after that resigned). They were wonderful editors, but at one point, the story that I had imagined taking place over three seasons spanned over fifty years! Luckily, the fourth editor, Brittany, shared my initial vision for the story and brought a fresh perspective to how that could be done while expanding the timeline in a way that felt organic to my protagonist’s journey. Also, the theme of female friendship and survival remains at the story’s core.
JA: The real-life character of Alice Appenzeller is introduced as “Ms. Alice,” a title that was not necessarily in common use at the time, although a strident feminist or suffragist may have used it. Is there evidence that she did use that title, or is that a case of using literary license?
AYKC:. Alice is a direct translation of her name and not a title. Korean honorifics serve to show respect and one’s place in the strict social hierarchies that exist. Things are changing, but addressing people by their given names is a grave breach of social etiquette. One rarely used a person’s given name to address them unless they were born in the same calendar year or speaking to someone younger than them. My parents have never called each other by their first name. My two younger brothers have never called me by my first name.
I’ve been in Korean-speaking settings where names had to be shared during introductions. The honorific “shi” was attached after the first name. (Attaching it to the last name could be perceived as rude although it is also done.) So, I was introduced as “Ann-shi” which translates to “Ms. Ann”. Adding Ms. to Alice’s name follows this practice.
JA: Can you tell me about your writing practice and how you balance it with teaching, promotional events like the Victoria Festival of Authors, and the rest of your life?
AYKC: The worst advice I ever got as a writer was that I needed to write every day. All that did was create cycles of guilt and burnout. I work full-time as a teacher but I certainly don’t teach seven days a week. So just like all the jobs I’ve ever had, a work schedule helps me stay on top of my job as a writer. The schedule changes depending on whatever priorities need my attention on any given week or month. An upcoming deadline for an editor might require scheduling additional time to write. For the past few years, I’ve been caring for my mother who has stage four cancer. Parts of All Things Under the Moon were written as she slept because I was working towards tight timelines. We do what we need to move forward. Now at the age of 57, I’ve learned to take more breaks and to listen to my body if it’s whispering for me to take a deep breath.