Today we interview Jane Park about her debut novel, INHERITANCE. Jane is a second-generation Korean Canadian writer. She is a MacDowell Fellow, and was a participant in the Banff Centre’s Writing Studio, and Diaspora Dialogues. She was born in Edmonton, Alberta, lived in New York City for over a decade, and now lives in Calgary, Alberta. Currently, she is pursuing an MFA at the University of British Columbia. Inheritance is her debut novel. Linny was excited to identify the similarities of Jane’s life and that of her leading character in INHERITANCE, Anne. Jane tells us she was a reader as a child. Her parents owned a grocery store, so her parents dropped her off at the library to keep her busy during non-school hours. She read lots of young adult serialized books. Writing came from her enthusiasm for reading. But she didn’t think being a writer was a viable career path for her as an immigrant kid. She did a lot of writing, but for her it was a hobby. It wasn’t until she moved to New York City that she met people who were actually writers: even immigrant kids! Writing INHERITANCE took about 20 years. It started when she was a disgruntled worker, writing fan fiction during her working hours! One day the voice of a young tax attorney, Anne, came to her. She followed that voice to write the novel. Canada has a lot of programs for aspiring writers that she was accepted into. In these programs, she had Shyam Selvadurai as a mentor and he was very helpful to her. INHERITANCE was 80% done before her first child and then she had another child. Then COVID happened. The Canada Council for the Arts awarded her financial support for babysitting money to finish her novel. Alice Munroe, Canada’s most famous author, had once requested funding for babysitting, but had been denied, so progress! Jane feels as a mother she had a greater maternal tenderness toward her characters. Jane has said she writes about is the Korean immigrant experience. She feels that other Korean immigrants understand the dark humor of trauma and shame, while white people are a bit shocked by it. This book allowed her to explore the family dysfunction many experienced. It’s a stereotype of immigrant families that the parents want their children to become either doctors or lawyers. In INHERITANCE, Charles and Anne's parents certainly have high expectations for their career. At several points, their parents basically say they didn’t sacrifice everything for their children to become losers. Jane says she cannot emphasize enough the importance of the oldest son in Confucian thinking. The daughter is the bottom of the barrel. However, Jane observed that in the immigrant community, sometimes it was the daughter, not the son, that succeeded. Linny remarks she likes Jane’s illustration of generational trauma and how that impacts the family relationships. She liked, too, that Jane shows how they work to break that cycle. Jane agrees and says she has done a lot of reading about children of Holocaust survivors and the trauma they faced. She particularly recommends: Eva Hoffman’s AFTER SUCH KNOWLEGE and LOST IN TRANSLATION; Anne Karf’s THE WAR AFTER; and, Alice Kaplan’s FRENCH LESSONS. Although the Holocaust was an entirely different scale, she sees similar challenges, too with kids of survivors of the Chinese Revolution and the Vietnamese War. Nancy notes that Anne talks about the heaviness that she carries. Jane tells us that Anne can’t even articulate why she’s depressed. As a mom, she’s read books to help her understand how NOT to pass along the trauma to her children. She feels her generation is like a water filter, trying to purify the impurities of the water so their children have healthy water. Jane says the number one predictor of emotionally healthy children is having a parent that has dealt with their challenges. She says you don’t need to share your trauma with your children, but you need to deal with it yourself. She says it is unusual for immigrants to access mental health services. Jane says the culture is shame-based and that seeing a therapist is seen as admission that you’re crazy. Nancy was very intrigued by the ill-gotten and ill-used eunjangdo, the knife Korean noblewomen carried to kill themselves if they were raped. It seems that the knife is a tool to ensure family honor, but that too much emphasis on family honor can be harmful. Jane first learned of the eunjangdo during a trip to Korea. She finds its symbolism to be troubling – that a woman is expected to kill herself. She also feels that the eunjangdo is a symbol of inheritance, particularly because more diaspora kids have no physical inheritance. Jane tells us that most Koreans wanted to come to America. Her father applied for acceptance into America, but was denied because he said he was willing to be a car mechanic, but Jane’s mom had overdressed for the interview and the interviewer couldn’t imagine she would be satisfied to be a car mechanic’s wife in America! Jane also thinks America was more interested in immigrants with professional backgrounds, while Canada was fine taking more blue-collar immigrants. When Jane meets other second-generation kids in America, they tend to be much more elite. Jane tells us that in INHERITANCE the character Cathy represents the elite Korean-American professional. Charles’ computer also seems to be symbolic of new ways of thinking and succeeding in a culture. Their father doesn’t understand the promise of computers and actively destroys Charles’ passion for computing. There almost seems to be an element of fear their father has for the new. Jane says this came from her observation of the Confucian family structure. In the 1970s and 80s, their vision of the Confucian family froze in time and didn’t progress as it did in Korea. The Hong family mocks Anne and her brother for being so old-fashioned, to represent this. Jane also wonders why there haven’t been more Koreans heading IT companies. Jane says she knew a lot of boys who were kicked out of the homes because they didn’t want to follow the expected script. And, these are good boys. There are plenty of children who did become doctors and lawyers, but there is a cost to following a script. The oldest son is almost worshipped, but also bears a lot of responsibility. Charles’ mom dotes on him in very unhealthy ways, even as an adult. Linny asked whether Charles’ drug addiction is also emblematic of this pressure. Jane says she doesn’t think Koreans have any higher rate of substance abuse than other racial groups. Instead, Jane was working to ramp up the tension and distance in the family. Jane thinks that Korean families now prefer girls because girls are more likely to take care of their parents. Korean families don’t abide as much to Confucianism. Jane tells us that Confucianism is about keeping your head down and playing the role you are supposed to play. She wanted to play that against Western culture that emphasizes individualism. Nancy asked Jane about her once saying that one of the things she likes to explore is God. Jane has said that she is “always thinking about God.” Jane said that while she was writing this book, she was attending Redeemer Presbyterian Church and that one Sunday Tim Keller was preaching on the Prodigal Son. Keller said most people focus on the youngest son’s experience, but the oldest son’s experience is important, too. Jane realized this, too, is about one sibling following a script and the other, not. Anne hates this parable, in INHERITANCE! Nancy said she saw Jane’s post about creating silkscreen bookplates for readers who pre-ordered the books. Jane said if she could do it over, she would get a Master’s of Fine Arts. She loves taking hobby courses. Nancy agrees and said she loves to take fine arts hobby courses, too. Nancy notes that Anne is also a frustrated fine artist. Jane said she wanted to show that Anne had other talents, but that the script did not have room for them. Jane said the career stakes for immigrant kids were so much higher. There’s something noble about following the script and sacrificing for your family. There’s also something noble about being willing to be kicked out of the family and following your own path. Nancy notes that the father says it’s not just the family, but basically all Asian countries and India, too, that the children are representing. Jane says she has friends who were given that speech. Immigrant kids have to be exceptional. Linny liked that mom got to finally grasp her own life. Jane tells us that the mother represents the ajumma – a middle-aged Korean woman. These women worked hard their entire lives to rebuild Korea, support their husband’s careers, boost their children’s educations to get into the best schools. There’s a joy at having accomplished what you needed to do and now to have time for yourself. Jane is now working on her MFA at the University of British Columbia. The program is exposing her to many forms of writing, including screenwriting and non-fiction writing. She is enjoying exploring these forms. Jane has Instagram and Facebook pages and a Substack where she is able to engage in longform writing.