If she chewed on a good poem for ten days, she felt like the bear of the Tangun legend who became human by surviving on garlic and bitter sook for one hundred days, thereafter earning the honor of becoming the mother of the first Korean kingdom. Like the mythical bear, Jisun felt that she was being rewarded for her perseverance and would one day see a great and meaningful future.
-- Narrator, Jisun's perspective (Book 1, Chapter 3 paragraph 1)

Importance: This quote reflects Jisun’s vision of a great future as divergent from many of the other characters’ vision of a great future. Her father defines success as financial success. Jisun on the other hand holds democratic institutions and equality to be signifiers of success. This vision also aligns with the vision of Korea as “our country,” in other words, for everyone. This quote does hold a bit of irony, however. Sunam describes Korea also as an extension of family...