In Skinship, a collection of short stories, author Yoon Choi compiles several stories of Korean immigrants who find their way through America and the Korean American children left behind. In the last story “Song and Song,” the characters reflect on their past choices and lives, especially between the sisters Minyoung and Minji. Through their stories, and Minyoung’s daughter in the spotlight for the future, reflection becomes a vital tool for understanding.
In Minyoung’s life, reminiscence is an instrument for her past hesitance. The narrator Minyoung lives a relatively stable life. She studied in Columbia, after which she soon married and took care of her children. However, when Charis, her daughter, reads her reflection of Minyoung’s life choices, instead of being indifferent, Minyoung is deeply hurt by her daughter’s words. Although Minyoung lives a comfortable life, her reactions and thoughts about her life characterize her as someone who is uncertain. When Minyoung realizes she is “tired of striving and learning and getting graded,” Minyoung leaves her life in which she needs to face these conflicts and decides to settle down as a housewifehomebody (Choi 247). Minyoung’s decision to stay at home, and many others, seem certain to a normal person, but in a different perspective, Minyoung’s hesitation to make concrete decisions in her life leads her to choose a life she can easily follow along, including a house and having a child. Still, the lack of disruption in Minyoung’s life makes her content and allows her to have few regrets about living a relatively normal life.
In Minji’s life, reminiscence is an instrument of comfort and exploration. Minji lives the foil life of Minyoung. She refused to marry and lives in a small flat in Great Britain, supporting herself in financially-unreliable ways. When their mother becomes ill, it is Minji who moves from England back to New York and takes care of all responsibilities, as Minyoung and their father are unable to. She additionally chooses to defy many of the social expectations placed upon her, evident in Minyoung’s internal criticism criticizing, “How about waking up one day to find you’re middle-aged and made all the wrong decisions? How about having to live with regrets?” (Choi 275). Yet, in the larger scope, Minji seems to hold more certainty in choosing her life. Minji deliberately chooses to leave the United States for a different country and live a lifestyle in passion with writing. Still, it is important to note that even though Minji choses to live a less-grounded lifestyle, she understands that her life is not something to be romanticized. When Charis inquires Minji of her life and experience in Europe, Minji states, “It can seem cool. . . but what I’ve done is chosen my life. This is my life. I haven’t just gone off on some fun adventure” (Choi 272). Thus, although Minji’s life feels more spontaneous and adventurous, she is more determined and sure about her life actions.
Lastly, as Charis begins her journey and contemplates adulthood, her life becomes a source of contemplation and reflection for both Minyoung and Minji. Minyoung narrates the story in two points of Charis’s life: Charis as a baby and Charis before deciding her college and adult life. Still, contrasting her stronger personality, Charis’s future looms before the grown woman. Will Charis take the path of Minyoung, one that looks relatively stable, or the path of Minji, one that looks more free? Still, Minji and Minyoung reflect on their past choices, especially through their bond in Minji’s flat, and Yoon Choi ends on the note that there is no better one; both end in joy and comfort.
Therefore, through the lives of three women, Minyoung, Minji, and Charis, Yoon Choi effortlessly details the past reflections that Minyoung and Minji are forced to face, and the future that Charis will soon embark on. Thus, Minyoung’s and Minji’s opposing journeys bring each of their characteristics to light, and Charis’s journey provides deeper meaning and thought to both the characters and readers in the story.
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