The Waiting is the fictional story of Gwija, told by her novelist daughter Jina. When Gwija was seventeen years old, after hearing that the Japanese were seizing unmarried girls, her family married her in a hurry to a man she didn't know. Japan fell, Korea gained its independence, and the couple started a family. But peace didn’t come. The young family of four fled South. On the road, while breastfeeding and changing her daughter, Gwija was separated from her husband and son. Then seventy years passed. Seventy years of waiting. Gwija is now an elderly woman and Jina can’t stop thinking about the promise she made to help find her brother.

Organized by the Global Asias Initiative, this lunchtime discussion is open to anyone interested in Keum Suk Gendry-Kim The Waiting (as well as graphic novels in general, learning more about Asian American studies, or meeting Asian Americanists at Penn State). We welcome students, instructors/faculty, and the general public!