As soon as she learned to walk, she'd tagged behind him like a loyal pet, and though she admired her mother, when her father died, Sunja changed from a joyful girl to a thoughtful young woman.
-- Sunja (Book 1, Chapter 3 paragraph 6)

Importance: Sunja's father Hoonie dies when she is 13. Hoonie was devoted to Sunja, and Sunja wanted to make her father happy. Now, she has to work hard at her mother's boarding house, and since her father has passed away, Sunja has found herself to no longer be the doted-upon child, but instead the hardworking "young woman."

The Japanese were not to be vilified, he said. At this moment in time, they were beating the Koreans, and of course, no one liked losing. He believed that if the Koreans could stop quarreling with each other, they could probably take over Japan and do much worse things to the Japanese instead.
-- Koh Hansu (Book 1, Chapter 5)

Importance: This quotes is one of the...