The Bae Family’s Inherited Poverty

The Sun is Also a Star

Dae Hyun’s fear of poverty explains his insistence on security, while also showing how protection can become silence and control.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Fishing Childhood A Fishing Childhood from "The Sun is Also a Star". Family Duty The Crab Business Dae Hyun grows up expected to inherit his family’s precarious crab-fishing livelihood.

A Fishing Childhood from "The Sun is Also a Star". Family Duty The Crab Business Dae Hyun grows up expected to inherit his family’s precarious crab-fishing livelihood.

Family Duty The Crab Business Dae Hyun grows up expected to inherit his family’s precarious crab-fishing livelihood. A Memory of Escape The trapped crabs become an enduring image of struggling to survive without freedom.

Immigration and Opportunity Immigration and Opportunity from "The Sun is Also a Star". Building a Business Community Support Relatives and fellow immigrants help Dae Hyun and Min Soo establish a beauty supply store.

Immigration and Opportunity from "The Sun is Also a Star". Building a Business Community Support Relatives and fellow immigrants help Dae Hyun and Min Soo establish a beauty supply store.

Building a Business Community Support Relatives and fellow immigrants help Dae Hyun and Min Soo establish a beauty supply store. A Protective Aim He understands America as a chance for his sons to avoid the poverty that shaped him.

Silence About the Past Silence About the Past from "The Sun is Also a Star". Protection Through Omission Unspoken History Dae Hyun does not explain poverty or the family history that drives his anxieties.

Silence About the Past from "The Sun is Also a Star". Protection Through Omission Unspoken History Dae Hyun does not explain poverty or the family history that drives his anxieties.

Protection Through Omission Unspoken History Dae Hyun does not explain poverty or the family history that drives his anxieties. Misunderstood Expectations His sons experience his plans as pressure because they cannot see the fear beneath them.

The Future Prescribed The Future Prescribed from "The Sun is Also a Star". Security as Love A Father’s Argument Dae Hyun tells Daniel that medical success will provide money, respect, and future choice.

The Future Prescribed from "The Sun is Also a Star". Security as Love A Father’s Argument Dae Hyun tells Daniel that medical success will provide money, respect, and future choice.

Security as Love A Father’s Argument Dae Hyun tells Daniel that medical success will provide money, respect, and future choice. A Silenced Reply When Daniel tries to explain what he wants, his father stops him and makes the choice conditional on independence.

A Partial Understanding A Partial Understanding from "The Sun is Also a Star". The Past Remains Protection Reconsidered Dae Hyun reflects on how poverty can carve into a person’s body and mind.

A Partial Understanding from "The Sun is Also a Star". The Past Remains Protection Reconsidered Dae Hyun reflects on how poverty can carve into a person’s body and mind.

The Past Remains Protection Reconsidered Dae Hyun reflects on how poverty can carve into a person’s body and mind. No Easy Reconciliation His love for his sons is real, but his silence leaves them without the context needed to understand his demands.

Dae Hyun’s childhood in South Korea

after Dae Hyun joins the Korean immigrant community in New York City

during Daniel and Charlie’s childhood

the day Daniel is expected to interview at Yale

later that evening, after Daniel leaves the store