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MALE-FEMALE RELATIONSHIPS ACROSS CULTURES IN ANN Y. K. CHOI’S KAY’S LUCKY COIN VARIETY (2016) —40>— JuDIT NAGY: ABSTRACT Y. K. Choi’s recent novel, Kay’s Lucky Coin Variety (2016) contains ample references to the differences between Western and Eastern ways of courtship, romance and marriage. Applying Min-sun Kim’s cultural communication theory to the analysis as described in her book entitled Non-Western Perspectives on Human Communication (2002), the paper will explore how the diasporic Korean-Canadian female protagonist, Yu-Rhee/ Mary’s ideas and experience of male-female relationships are affected by her Korean cultural heritage and the Canadian environment in which she grows up. INTRODUCTION Set in the Toronto of 1980s and featuring the family of a Korean-Canadian corner store owner, Ann Y. K. Choi’s recent novel, Kay’s Lucky Coin Variety (2016) contains a cornucopia of references to the differences between Western and Eastern ways of courtship, romance and marriage. Its main protagonist, Mary/ Yu-Rhee is the embodiment of those young immigrant women who “felt torn between the demands of their parents and the desire to be a ‘typical’ Canadian teenager,” proposes Sue Carter, the editor of Quill & Quire in her review of Choi’s book. As such, Mary/Yu-Rhee’s coming-of-age narrative provides solid and abundant evidence of the inner tension she experiences as a diasporic Korean- Canadian in all areas of life, including male-female relationships. Through an application of Min-sun Kim’s cultural communication theory as described in her book Non-Western Perspectives on Human Communication (2002), the paper will explore how Mary/Yu-Rhee’s ideas and experience of male-female relationships are influenced by her Korean cultural heritage and the Canadian environment in which she grows up. ' Karoli Gaspar University of the Reformed Church in Hungary. 2 Carter, Sue Ann, Choi preserves a way of life in Kay’s Lucky Coin Variety, The Star, https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2016/05/07/ann-choi-preserves-a-way- oflife-in-kays-lucky-coin-variety.html (accessed 7 May 2016). 3 Min-sun, Kim, Non-Western Perspectives on Human Communication, Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications, 2002.
