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Quiet Odyssey: A Pioneer Korean Woman in America
Mary Paik Lee, born Paik Kuang Sun in 1900, left her native country in 1905, traveling with her parents as a political refugee after Japan imposed control over Korea at the close of the Russo-Japanese War. Her father labored in the sugar plantations of Hawaii for a year and a half before taking his family to California, where Mrs. Lee has lived ever since. Though her father knew the comforts enjoyed by the educated traditional elite in Korea, after emigration he and his family shared the poverty stricken existence endured by thousands of Asian immigrants in early twentieth century America. Mrs. Lee’s parents earned their living as farm laborers, tenant farmers, cooks, and janitors, and the family always took in laundry. Her father tried mercury mining until his health gave out. In their turn, Mrs. Lee and her husband farmed, sold produce, and managed apartment buildings.
The author is engagingly outspoken and is extremely observant of her social and natural surroundings. Recounted incidents take on memorable life, as do the sharply etched settings of California’s agricultural and mining country. She tells of singular hardship surmounted with resilience and characteristic grace. During much of her life Asian Americans were not treated as full human beings, yet she kept a powerful vision of what the United States could be.
The author is engagingly outspoken and is extremely observant of her social and natural surroundings. Recounted incidents take on memorable life, as do the sharply etched settings of California’s agricultural and mining country. She tells of singular hardship surmounted with resilience and characteristic grace. During much of her life Asian Americans were not treated as full human beings, yet she kept a powerful vision of what the United States could be.
266 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
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484 people want to read
About the author
Mary Paik Lee
2 books4 followersMary Paik Lee (1900–1995) was a Korean American writer. She is most known for her autobiography, Quiet Odyssey : A Pioneer Korean Woman in America. She was born Paik Kuang-Sun in Pyongyang, now the capital of North Korea. Her parents decided to leave Korea when the Japanese and their growing presence in Korea took control over their home. In 1905, they arrived in Hawaii where they started anew.[2] Her father, Paik Sin Koo, came from a line of ministers and teachers but when they arrived in Hawaii, he became a contract laborer on a sugar plantation. They faced extreme discrimination and eventually moved to Riverside, California in 1906.
Over the course of her life, Lee, her parents, and her husband would suffer many hardships. Her memoir, Quiet Odyssey, was published in 1990. It is noted for being one of the few memoirs by an Asian American woman, and the only memoir by a Korean American woman that covers the majority of the twentieth century. She provides an important cultural viewpoint on the last century, from the perspective of one of America's first Korean pioneers.
(from Wikipedia)
Over the course of her life, Lee, her parents, and her husband would suffer many hardships. Her memoir, Quiet Odyssey, was published in 1990. It is noted for being one of the few memoirs by an Asian American woman, and the only memoir by a Korean American woman that covers the majority of the twentieth century. She provides an important cultural viewpoint on the last century, from the perspective of one of America's first Korean pioneers.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
February 9, 2023
This obscure memoir was quoted in The Making of Asian America, and sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a try. Not unexpectedly for an obscure older memoir, it’s of more historical than literary interest, worth checking out if you want the peek into an earlier era.
Born in 1900, Mary Paik Lee was at the age of 5 among the first wave of Korean immigrants to the United States: first Hawaii, then California. She grew up the second child in a large family struggling to survive, hopping from town to town after jobs in agriculture, mining, or anywhere else her parents could earn enough to feed their 10 children. Much of the book is a chronicle of early 20th century poverty and hardship, as well as the racism the family faced. They were often assumed to be Japanese, which annoyed them all the more since their country was occupied by Japan at the time—the reason the family emigrated in the first place! In the early years they also faced discrimination in public accommodations, seemingly every bit as harsh as Jim Crow. The author also writes about her adult life, in which she and her husband continued to work extremely hard to support their family, as well as confronting a variety of health problems. But they did make it in the end and were able to launch two of their sons into lucrative careers, though their children’s lives were also not without tragedy.
The author was not a professional writer, so the language is very plain, simple and straightforward, and there isn’t a lot of nuance in her depictions. That said, there’s something to be learned about her era simply by noting her shortcuts, and I found it a worthwhile read. I’m more on the fence about the substantial supplemental material accompanying it: the book was edited and published by a scholar of Asian-American studies, who wrote a 40-page introduction about the history of Korea (relevant, but dry), and another 40 pages of appendices about the history of Asian-American farming in California and her own edits to the manuscript. It was certainly interesting to learn what the scholar, Sucheng Chan, felt compelled to change: she made what seems in the internet age a rather half-hearted attempt to fact-check Lee’s story, with mixed results, and when Lee’s memory was contradicted by the evidence, simply removed the specifics from Lee’s claims to make them less unlikely. But she was still left with one major unresolved continuity error in Lee’s memories, which is left as is.
Born in 1900, Mary Paik Lee was at the age of 5 among the first wave of Korean immigrants to the United States: first Hawaii, then California. She grew up the second child in a large family struggling to survive, hopping from town to town after jobs in agriculture, mining, or anywhere else her parents could earn enough to feed their 10 children. Much of the book is a chronicle of early 20th century poverty and hardship, as well as the racism the family faced. They were often assumed to be Japanese, which annoyed them all the more since their country was occupied by Japan at the time—the reason the family emigrated in the first place! In the early years they also faced discrimination in public accommodations, seemingly every bit as harsh as Jim Crow. The author also writes about her adult life, in which she and her husband continued to work extremely hard to support their family, as well as confronting a variety of health problems. But they did make it in the end and were able to launch two of their sons into lucrative careers, though their children’s lives were also not without tragedy.
The author was not a professional writer, so the language is very plain, simple and straightforward, and there isn’t a lot of nuance in her depictions. That said, there’s something to be learned about her era simply by noting her shortcuts, and I found it a worthwhile read. I’m more on the fence about the substantial supplemental material accompanying it: the book was edited and published by a scholar of Asian-American studies, who wrote a 40-page introduction about the history of Korea (relevant, but dry), and another 40 pages of appendices about the history of Asian-American farming in California and her own edits to the manuscript. It was certainly interesting to learn what the scholar, Sucheng Chan, felt compelled to change: she made what seems in the internet age a rather half-hearted attempt to fact-check Lee’s story, with mixed results, and when Lee’s memory was contradicted by the evidence, simply removed the specifics from Lee’s claims to make them less unlikely. But she was still left with one major unresolved continuity error in Lee’s memories, which is left as is.
September 22, 2009
This is the autobiography of a Korean woman, Mary Paik Lee (née Paik Kuang Sun), who as a child immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s - one of the few Koreans who were able to do so before immigration from Asia was shut off. Her story is a firsthand account of the discrimination and obstacles that came along with being poor, Asian, and female in that era. She lived at a time when alien land laws in California restricted real-property rights for Asians (although her family was able to make oral agreements to farm land) and a time when she was constantly told, "Japs aren't wanted here." The purpose of her narrative, though, is not to complain about what happened (her voice is surprisingly not bitter, given all that happened).
I first read this account in high school; almost 20 years later, I'm struck by the paucity of narratives about Asian-American (let alone Korean-American) women at the time this book was published (1990) - this was apparently, as the preface claims, the "first full statement we have" of an Asian-American woman's life from childhood through old age. Wow.
I first read this account in high school; almost 20 years later, I'm struck by the paucity of narratives about Asian-American (let alone Korean-American) women at the time this book was published (1990) - this was apparently, as the preface claims, the "first full statement we have" of an Asian-American woman's life from childhood through old age. Wow.
January 24, 2023
really interesting and real story about the asian american immigrant experience. some parts i wanted to cry at tbh
April 15, 2008
I am so grateful that this published account and primary text even exists. Ms. Mary Paik Lee's autobiography illuminates the ways in which her family struggled--through poverty, the racially-charged climate of the U.S., and harsh working conditions--and how they pioneered the way for future waves of Korean Americans.
July 6, 2021
This woman’s story is quite remarkable. Her family emigrated from Korea in 1905. She lived all over California from Colusa to Claremont, did all kinds of work, fought against racist abuse and ignorance, fell in love, had children, loved her neighbors and family, and told her story. The author’s friendly yet frank writing style made it a joy to read. The editor, Sucheng Chan, provides historical context throughout as well as in an excellent introduction that sets the stage to meet Mary Paik Lee.
October 24, 2023
apush absolutely failed me. a little dated conception of race relations, a little too blindly optimistic. but such a moving memoir nonetheless.
January 23, 2023
The chance to learn about the Asian immigrant experience pre-1950 is incredibly rare; as such, this book is a real treasure to read. Yes, it's one person's experience, and one that I would consider relatively uncommon, but nonetheless it gives you a perspective into lives that could never be imagined. It's a lesson in history, family, luck, and a breaking with tradition that atomizes some of the most significant shifts in domestic and global development. The book gives me a greater appreciate for the sacrifices immigrant families made in the early 1900s to produce progress in generation after generation, although its rarity also serves as a reminder of how many families struggled to survive in proportion to the relative "success" that Lee had the fortune to experience in periods of her life.
This was a humble and humbling book to read, one that connects many strings without intentionally doing so. The introduction (about 50 pages) is an important preface to understanding the context of the remainder of the book, as are the appendices.
This was a humble and humbling book to read, one that connects many strings without intentionally doing so. The introduction (about 50 pages) is an important preface to understanding the context of the remainder of the book, as are the appendices.
June 5, 2022
I wasn't really expecting much coming into this book because a) it's an autobiography and b) this person isn't even famous. I was soon proven very wrong.
This book has everything in it, and the fact that it's all a true story makes it even better. Never did I expect to be so intrigued with the process through which zucchini is harvested. The author mentions all these parts of history that we never get to learn about in schools, which is really crucial considering how little we know about early Korean American communities. She mentions a lot of the racism and prejudice she faced, but also the acts of kindness that she experienced, some of which surprised me.
I highly recommend this book to Korean Americans who want to learn about their heritage.
This book has everything in it, and the fact that it's all a true story makes it even better. Never did I expect to be so intrigued with the process through which zucchini is harvested. The author mentions all these parts of history that we never get to learn about in schools, which is really crucial considering how little we know about early Korean American communities. She mentions a lot of the racism and prejudice she faced, but also the acts of kindness that she experienced, some of which surprised me.
I highly recommend this book to Korean Americans who want to learn about their heritage.
July 6, 2022
Pretty fascinating - an autobiography of a Korean-American who emigrated to the U.S. in 1905 at the age of 5, in the earliest wave of emigration when there were very few Koreans in the U.S. It's wonderfully evocative of what life was like for them, the racism they faced, what daily life looked like, and above all the fantastic struggle it was just to survive. I read this shortly after reading Pachinko, and there's a common theme - life for Korean emigrants no matter where they ended up was almost impossibly difficult. And what's crazy is that even still, their lives were very likely better than those of the ones who stayed behind.
January 5, 2018
A phenomenal, truly affecting memoir/autobiography that managed to inspire and fill me with hope while utterly demolishing me with so many feels.
November 17, 2018
Immigrants suffer.
May 21, 2020
this made me cry in the library :,)
October 18, 2020
Read for school. I really have no words. What an amazing person with an amazing story.
Want to read
January 8, 2022Erika Lee (The Making of Asian America) "The best first-person account of Korean immigration and Korean American communities before WW2."
March 15, 2022
Glad I discovered this book. I knew little about history of Korea or early Korean immigration to California prior to reading this book.
Read
October 18, 2025another Asian-American history read!
April 15, 2018
a good biography that really showcases the plight of a korean immigrant and how immigration to such a foreign country shaped her personality, family, and life experiences. the theme of american dream is very pronounced in the book, and its unattainability is also prominent within the pages. made me very sympathetic to immigrants, because moving from your mother country with little to nothing is so hard; nevertheless, the new country has a language that they don't speak... the challenges (mental and physical) are indescribable.
September 26, 2012
As an outsider looking in on the Asian-American experience, I found myself engrossed in this autobiography. Mary Paik Lee is part of a very small group of Koreans who immigrated at the onset of Japanese invasion around 1900, before immigration out of Korea was essentially shut down. Reading her story in her own words helped me understand and empathize more with the immigrant journey and struggle to stay sheltered and fed in a foreign, racist climate. I cannot begin to understand what life was (and is) like for Korean immigrants, and the book gave me a new appreciation for the tenacity and character of those trying to forge a new life in the U.S.
The introduction packs in Korean history to give context for her story. This I found useful, since most U.S. education about non-white people groups is woefully inadequate. East Asian immigration played a huge role in California's history; as a California native, it's disheartening that I'm just now learning about immigrant history post-college.
The introduction packs in Korean history to give context for her story. This I found useful, since most U.S. education about non-white people groups is woefully inadequate. East Asian immigration played a huge role in California's history; as a California native, it's disheartening that I'm just now learning about immigrant history post-college.
February 3, 2010
When I started to read this book I expected it to be good in an informative sort of way, but wasn't expecting a whole lot of enjoyment from the reading process. I loved it. Mary Lee's story is an amazing one and her manner of telling it quite engaging!
This story is one that shows how amazing the human spirit really is. Through incredibly hard work, Mary & her family were able to make their way in the U.S. It took a long time and a LOT of work, but they succeeded. It left me inspired to work harder and complain less.
What I found disturbing was (a) how little I knew about Korean history (why did I learn nothing about that in school??) and (b) how little I knew about the mistreatment of Koreans and other Asians in the U.S. at the beginning of the 20th century. For some reason I knew a lot about discrimination against other races, but very little about the discrimination felt by Asians only one generation ago.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone!
This story is one that shows how amazing the human spirit really is. Through incredibly hard work, Mary & her family were able to make their way in the U.S. It took a long time and a LOT of work, but they succeeded. It left me inspired to work harder and complain less.
What I found disturbing was (a) how little I knew about Korean history (why did I learn nothing about that in school??) and (b) how little I knew about the mistreatment of Koreans and other Asians in the U.S. at the beginning of the 20th century. For some reason I knew a lot about discrimination against other races, but very little about the discrimination felt by Asians only one generation ago.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone!
October 28, 2008
Any recent Asian Immigrant can relate to what the main character of the story goes through. I find it very heart breaking to see the Mary, and all of her sisters and brothers went through such financial hardship through out their entire life. I find if very touching to read the story of what Mary's youngest son had to go through...he did not have the opportunity to further his schooling by graduating from college like all of his brothers did...I find it touching to read that neither did Mary nor her husband had the opportunities to graduate from college. I think that since they grew up so poor, Mary's parents didn't have the opportunities to send any of their children to get a college education. ( I think that situation is very sad to read indeed.)
November 29, 2023
She arrived in the U.S. in 1905 from Korea as a child with her parents. Edited and with useful appendices by Professor Sucheng Chan, this is the rare firsthand account from an Asian American woman of those times. Highly Recommended!
June 11, 2015
Fascinating piece of American history!
November 8, 2015
same w emma, essential read for understanding migrant/immigrant/people's history
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews