Samgwangsa

Abstract

Samgwangsa is an autoethnographic memoir that begins with the author’s early childhood memories of living in Korea with her mother, who became a “military bride” and the first Korean immigrant to settle in the author’s hometown. This piece questions what notions such as home, freedom, mobility, and the American dream mean under conditions of displacement. It chronicles the author’s desire to return to Korea with her mother, and through a life-long effort to do so, reveals new insights about kinship.