Inga Davis

5960.001

May 21, 2002

 

 

Multicultural Literature Activity

 

 

Necessary Roughness

 

Written by:  Marie G. Lee

 

Summary:  Chan Jung Kim and his twin sister, Young, have grown up in Los Angeles in a Korean community where they had many friends and were considered popular.  Chan was the star of his soccer team and Young had just been accepted to play flute in the local orchestra.  But one day, Chan’s family has to move to Minnesota to take over a family store left by his uncle.  This small rural town is a far cry from where they used to live.   Chan’s relationship with his father is very shaky and he must endure the problem of trying to fit in at a school where he is the only Asian besides his sister.  At the encouragement of Mikko, the one person who befriends Chan, he makes the varsity football team as the kicker.  He and Young are both called derogatory names and Chan must endure a hate crime attack in the football locker room.  Chan must come to grips with what it means to be Korean and what is important to him. 

 

Author Profile:  Marie G. Lee is a second-generation Korean American, born and raised in Minnesota.  Her parents immigrated to the United States in 1953 before she was born in 1964.  She graduated from Brown University. Ms. Lee draws on her experiences of growing up Korean American to write her stories and anthologies.  She is also a Founder of the Asian American Writers Workshop and her work has appeared in The New York Times, and The Kenyon Review. Besides writing, she tours and lectures at Yale University.

 

Other books by Marie G. Lee are Finding My Voice, Saying Goodbye, If It Hadn’t Been for Yoon Jun, and Night of the Chupacabras.

 

 

 

Before Reading Activity: To analyze the similarities and differences of the Korean culture compared to our own in order to develop a deeper understanding of the culture.

 

Directions:  “Using the following websites, state 5 differences and 5 similarities of the Korean culture compared to your own.  They can be traditions, customs, daily living, education, religion, food, etc.”

 

http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/TLresources/longterm/LessonPlans/Byrnes/korea2.html (general resource)

 

http://pasture.ecn.purdue.edu/~agenhtml/agenmc/korea/korea.html (Korea: contains several links to various parts of the culture)

 

http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Culture/spotlight.cfm  (Life in Korea: Cultural Spotlight)

 

 

Have students share their facts with the class.  This will develop an understanding of the family represented in the book and maybe why the characters act in the way they do.

 

 

After Reading Activity:  To analyze a situation or problem and make a sound judgment.

 

  1. Have students work in groups of three or four.
  2. Each group is to discuss and record various ways Chan could have handled different situations, either good or bad.

Situations can include:

    1. Wanting to see his girlfriend but he isn’t allowed to date
    2. Not being able to communicate with his father
    3. The attack in the locker room and not telling anyone
    4. The lack of his father’s interest in what he was doing
    5. Going out for the football team
    6. Overhearing Rom and his dad calling Asians “gooks”
  1. Then have each group list the possible effects the decision could have had on Chan’s life or the story.
  2. Finally, have the students develop a list of ideas of what to do if they are caught in a situation where people are being prejudice to someone else.  Refer to the attack on Chan and how Jimmi Beargrease didn’t want to be part of it.