고국은 없다: 돈 리의 「고국」에 나타난 인종과 정체성

There is no Country of Origin: Race and Identity in Don Lee’s Country of Origin.

This paper explores the ways in which race and identities are represented in Don Lee’s Country of Origin . Set in Tokyo in 1980, the main narrative of the novel surrounds Lisa Countryman’s disappearance and her quest for the origin and birth-mother in Japan. As the story unfolds Lisa’s whereabouts and her pain of not having a racial identity and an ethnic community, the more complex issues of collective/ethnic/racial identities of three main characters are revealed. Even though the three characters, Lisa, Tom, and Kenzo have dramatic differences in their racial and cultural backgrounds, they all experienced the similar kinds of isolation as outsiders of their societies and shared common anguishes around identity issues; Lisa longed to rediscover her history and origin; Tom struggled to blend in an American society, not bring much attention to himself as an other; Kenzo was eager to be a member of his community and be accepted as normal. However, none of three characters’ wishes are fulfilled because, as Stuart Hall points out, identities are unstable and constantly changing and transforming, and they are always constituted within representation and in context. Therefore, identity never reflects the common experiences and guarantees oneness and collectiveness. The novel poignantly tells that there is no identity as a source of origin and beginning through the tragic narrative of Lisa Countryman.