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CANADIAN LANDSCAPES/ PAYSAGES CANADIENS to the host culture and, most importantly, “the sense of being understood” (Kim-Craigg 181). LITERARY REPRESENTATIONS Now we will see how the Church is reflected in literary works written by Korean-Canadian authors and whether this is congruent with the historical and sociological sources presented in the previous passages. First, we are going to have a look at Jean Yoon’s short story entitled “Halmonee,” which was published in the volume Han Kut (2007) written by Korean-Canadian women. The story presents a three-generational Korean immigrant family living in Canada. The grandmother, “Halmonee”® does not speak much English. Only her family and television connect her, very loosely, with the host culture. The only company she enjoys is that of the Korean preacher and his wife. She often calls on them on the pretext of dying: There is a book in her hand with very large print. The pages are thin and elegant so you can see, like veins in the skin, the words on the opposite page. I think it is the bible she is reading, but maybe it’s a book of hymns. She doesn’t sing herself but she enjoys calling the preacher and telling him that she is dying [...] And when the preacher comes, he brings his wife, a neat lady with shoes that match her pale peach dress. They hold her hand and sing energetic hymns over and over (J. Yoon 18). As the excerpt also illustrates, these hymns and religion serve as a solace for Halmonee ina strange host country she cannot identify with. The appearance of her book of hymns (thin and elegant pages) also reflects her reverence towards Korean Christianity. Mary/Yu-Rhee, the main protagonist of Ann Y. K. Choi’s Kay’s Lucky Coin Variety (2016) comes from a Buddhist family but she does not practice her religion: “I told everyone I was a Buddhist, although I rarely went to the temple. As immigrant children, we led parallel lives and were bound by parallel expectations of great achievement, which ultimately led to a lot of conspiring against our respective parents” (A. Y. K. Choi 22). She regards Christianity as a feature of host culture education: “In six hours, I’d be back in my homeroom class. A shiver ran down my spine. I’d be standing for the national anthem, followed by Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name...” (A. Y. K. Choi 43). Her brother, Josh, on the other hand, sees Christianity as an opportunity to make friends, network and integrate into the host culture. Mary/ Yu-Rhee is angry with him because she feels this is only an excuse to leave his share of work to her at the family-run convenience store: “I was angry the day 5 “Halmonee” means “grandmother” in Korean. +132 +
