White Chrysanthemum is a novel written by Mary Lynn Bracht. It was published by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 2018. The novel is based on comfort women, Korea, Japan, and history. The novel has fictional names, characters, places, and incidents. It is written in dual timelines that are split between the two women: Hana's life during the 1940s and Emi's life in 2011. The novel switches between the two women's perspectives intermittently during the novel. One chapter of the novel is told from the perspective of YoonHui, Emi's daughter. The novel includes a map from 1943, further readings, and a notable dates section.
Taking place in Korea, White Chrysanthemum is about two sisters named Hana and Emi that are separated by World War II. The sisters are haenyeo - free divers - and belong to a strong female community. At the age of 16 years old, Hana is taken away by a Japanese soldier to become a comfort woman. The novel focuses on the experiences of comfort women and how the war impacted different hierarchies of individuals from multiple perspectives. The dual timeline gives a perspective as events unfold through Hana's experience in the 1940s and a later perspective in 2011 from Emi's experience.
Plot Summary
The novel begins with the two sisters on the beach of Jeju Island; Hana is with her mother as she dives for abalone and Emi is waiting on the sand. Hana swims toward Emi as a soldier approaches, and hides her sister as the man talks to her. He is a Japanese soldier named Corporal Morimoto, and has Hana taken with him, leaving her sister behind. The novel then splits between the two women as Hana becomes a comfort woman and Emi searches for her sister sixty years later.
Hana's Perspective (1940s) Hana is brought to a police station where she maintains the lie that she told Corporal Morimoto, that her family is dead, by giving a false last name so they cannot locate them. Hana and other girls are led into a room where they are to re-dress in clothing before they are put in a truck. Hana is separated from the group and is brought to a ferry with other comfort women who were stored inside and being transported to an undisclosed location. Hana is raped by Corporal Morimoto, making this her first sexual experience. She is then returned to the rest of the women as they arrive to a train depot. Once boarded with soldiers to keep guard, the women on the train learn that they are headed to Manchuria where she is then taken to a brothel.
The next morning, the local soldiers learn of the arrival of a new comfort women, prompting them to visit Hana. Corporal Morimoto visits Hana each night he is on duty and rapes her. Hana flees the brothel after remaining there for a period of time, only to be caught by Corporal Morimoto. He tells her that he is taking her to Mongolia.
When she is brought to Mongolia, she stays with two men and a woman. She is unable to communicate with them because she does not speak Mongolian. Corporal Morimoto leaves for a period of time, and Hana begins to learn terms in Mongolian and about the people she is staying with. Morimoto comes back, and Hana tries to run away on horseback. Morimoto eventually catches up to her, but the two are taken by Soviet soldiers. The soldiers kill Corporal Morimoto, and release Hana to the Mongolian family. They bring her back to the place they live. The novel, from Hana's perspective, ends with her swimming in Lake Uvs.
Emi's Perspective (2011) Emi is beginning her dive as a haenyeo woman with JinHee, a fellow diver. Emi talks about a dream she often has where she is standing on a cliff and hears a girl's voice calling for her that is familiar but strange. Emi is revealed to be seventy seven years old, and talks about diving being a gift that her mother taught her. Emi talks about how she does not visit her children often because she has a distant relationship with them. She takes a taxi and then an airplane to Seoul to visit her daughter YoonHui, her son Hyoung, and her grandson YoungSook.
JinHee convinced Emi to go to the inaugural ceremony of the Jeju Peace Park that commemorates the 1948 Jeju Uprising. The 1948 Jeju Uprising led to the massacre of over twenty thousand islanders, according to Emi. She recalls how her family home was burned when she was fourteen years old. When she attended the event, she noticed how everyone was carrying the same flowers, white chrysanthemums, which are a symbol of mourning.