The Korean Language symbol

The Korean language is symbolic of the Cho's ethnicity, and the fact that Kyung no longer speaks it is evidence of his family's effort to acclimate to their American home. Kyung and Mae spoke only Korean when they arrived in America, but Kyung was a very young child and he learned English easily. The family did not maintain their Korean language and Kyung has only a rudimentary knowledge by the time Mae speaks to him in Korean in the first chapter of the novel. The fact that Kyung does not understand Mae’s words is evidence of his lost language, and the confusion helps the author build the twist that is revealed near the end of the novel. The language is also seen as a barrier in the first scene of the novel involving Kyung and Mae. He does not understand what she is saying, which is symbolic of the lack of understanding that remains between them their entire lives.