Everything Belongs to Us: A Novel

Everything Belongs to us is a novel about two girls, friends, Sujin who is very wealthy and hates being wealthy and Namin, very poor and hates being poor...their families, their dreams, their boyfriend, Sunam - shared for a while. I lived in Korea for 20 years, 1965-1985, working with many college -aged students so was very interested in this story and how it told. I thought it would be a little different from my other Korean reads, though like every Korean movie and novel I've ever seen or read, it is soap opera-ish in the problems faced and the sorrows experienced. Lots of family dynamics. It's a long book, and I was on the brink of giving up on it when the plot became intensely interesting and held me to the end. When things were at their very worst, the story ended and was followed by an epilogue that I greatly appreciated. The book is worth the investment of time. I recognized so much of the Korean cultural and social milieu of the 70's and 80's and that made it especially engaging. It was something of an inside look at things I've observed as an outsider. I found the writing quite good and was struck time and again by her descriptions of behavior and scenes that I thought were quite apt and beautiful. I think I'll remember this book and its three main characters for a long time.

The three young people in this book come of age in 1970's Korea. Each comes from families that represent a different level of the economic ladder. They are also quite different in personalities and connect to each other through mutual need and sometimes questionable loyalties. Although I know little about Korean life and politics, I'm pretty sure that the author does. She writes convincingly about the challenges of growing up in post-war Korea and creates real characters with flaws and weaknesses that balance their strengths.
Life's challenges seem to be a focal point in this book. Each of the main characters is successful in the end, but they pay a price. While the setting is Korea, the struggles and difficulties could occur to young people anywhere. The hopes and dreams of youth can make it seem that everything belongs to them.
Growing up has a way of changing that and turning those dreams inside out. Those who adapt are better suited to future happiness, but everyone has to deal with it in their own way. These characters don't always behave or respond in the way that I as a reader would expect, but I could related to their inadequacies and disappointments.
I enjoyed "Everything Belongs to Us" and recommend it to readers who enjoy a book that portrays real life and challenges them to see things from different angles. I learned a bit about Korea and it's history, yet also enjoyed a story that could have taken place in any setting. The ending isn't neat and tidy, but then again, neither is life. Ultimately everything doesn't really belong to us, but we survive in spite of it.
I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title.

This book was set in Seoul during the 1970's.The story centers around two young women, Jisun and Namin from different socioeconomic backgrounds but each trying to find their own way in these tumultuous times. Jisun grew up in the upper class and is trying to break away from her family and Namin grew up with parents who own a food cart and she is trying to improve her family's life who are struggling to survive. I enjoy reading books that help me learn about different cultures and different time periods of these countries. This book did help me to understand the struggles of Seoul in the late 1970'S but I somehow found the story lacking in substance. I did enjoy the last half of the book but I found myself not as engaged with the characters and their stories as I had eished. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free advance e-copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley and have chosen of my own free will to post a review. I couldn’t get into this novel. I found the reading very tedious. The characters are shallow. The story was hard to follow because it jumped around so much. I thought it was never going to end. Parts of the story were very sad and tragic. We see the rich and the very poor and downtrodden. We see some very manipulative and controlling characters, a great deal of graft and a political undercurrent. I did not enjoy reading this book.

Everything Belongs to Us is a debut novel by Yoojin Grace Wuertz. It is 1978 in Seoul, South Korea. Jisun, Namin, Juno and Sunam are all going to college, but each one of them is different. Jisun and Namin are friends, though, they are from very different backgrounds. Jisun is from a wealthy family and she protests every single thing her father believes in. She has joined the underground activist movement despite her father’s efforts to curtail her activities. Namin’s parents work hard running their food cart while Namin studies to become a doctor. She needs to graduate and then help her family especially her disabled brother. Juno Yoon is a member of the Circle and Sunam would like to join. Juno has become Sunam’s mentor in teaching him the right way to behave (basically, Sunam does Juno’s bidding). Their college years are just the beginning. Read Everything Belongs to Us to see how these four students evolve and where they eventually end up.

I had a hard time reading Everything Belongs to Us. It took me three tries to get through the whole novel. The story shows people at each end of the spectrum. We can see how money can corrupt a person and change their personality. These young people are discovering who they are and what they want. I did appreciate the epilogue (even if I did not like how the book ended). I wish, though, that it had not been written from just one character’s perspective (would have preferred third person). It was interesting to see how the 70s played out in a different country (one of the reasons I choose to read this book). I found the writing to be overformal and flat. It reminded me of some textbooks I read in college. I could not get involved in the story. Part of the reason is the wandering storylines. The book jumps from character to character. Then we are in the present and then the past. I was not a fan of the characters (another reason I could not get into this novel). There are the expected college exploits and the various romantic relationships. I ended up skimming through sections after a while. I read the first 1/3 of the book, the middle section, and the last third (it was the best I could do with this novel). I give Everything Belongs to Us 1 out of 5 stars (I really did not like this book). The author was very thorough in her details. Some scenes are a little off-putting. This novel sounded fascinating, but I was not the right reader for Everything Belongs to Us.

The two main characters are quite different women. Jisun has had a privileged life, although not much of a loving family life. In rebellion against her father, she joins an underground activist group. Her best friend, Namin, comes from a poor, hard-working family and is struggling through college at the Seoul National University in the hope that she will be able to offer her family a better life. The two main male characters are Sunam, a student trying to join the prestigious Circle, and Juno, Jisun’s conniving brother.

The story takes place in the 70’s and the author does a very good job of describing the hopes and fears of the young generation in South Korea at that time. There were those who rebelled and protested the harsh working conditions and there were those who strived to make the right connections so they could move upward. The living conditions for many made it very difficult to break out of their dismal prospects. While politics play a big part in the book, it’s not heavy handed and the author smoothly blends it into the story. I became engrossed in the story of these young people, their loves, their families and their friendships. The author offers excellent insight into the moral dilemmas faced by her characters and the choices that each makes. I felt the ending sort of petered out but I did enjoy this book as a whole and recommend it.

This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Random Publishing House for the ARC of "Everything Belongs to Us" by Yoojin Grace Wuertz in exchange for my honest review. The genres of this novel are Fiction, Women Fiction, and I would add Historical Fiction. The setting of this novel is Seoul, South Korea around 1978. I find that the author describes South Korea's top University and the Circle, an elite University Club, that are portrayed as symbols of success and wealth for the individuals who strive and work hard.
In this historical timelime, the author shows the diversity of wealth, rich and poor people and how they live. In hardworking poor Korean families,the burdens of life are portrayed. For example, it is embarrassing to have a child born with Cerebral Palsy, and often the family would hide the child with another relative. Some poor Korean women worked in factories, or were prostitutes.
The characters are complex and conflicted. Jisun is a privileged daughter of one of Korea's top wealthiest business men. She resents the the chauffeur and limousines, and everything materialistic. She joins protests and when other women are locked up, she is removed and brought back home to her father. Her friend Namin comes from a poor home, where she struggles to go to The University, and dreams of becoming a Doctor with all privileges. Namin works hard and has many obstacles in her way. Juno is a student who looks for the easy way. He feels that if he marries Jisun, he will have a wonderful life set up because of the father. Another character Sunam wants to please his comfortable family, and does try to join the elite group with Juno as his sponsor.
The lives of all four characters seem to connect. The author writes of betrayal, greed, manipulation,honor,family, love and hope. I found this novel to be intriguing, and the author's descriptions impressive.

1978 Seoul, a generation after the Korean War, and President Park Chung Hee is in power. Factory workers are striking and three students meet at Seoul National University. Sunam is a protégé of Juno, his link to a prestigious club that calls itself The Circle. Namin also aspires admission to this club and hopes to become its first female member. Jisun, a longtime friend of Namin, is the daughter of a rich and powerful Seoul businessman, and more interested in her work in the Urban Industrial Mission with unions, factory workers and church groups than she is in coursework.

Everything Belongs to Us closely follows these three as they make choices for themselves and deals with others to ensure their individual futures. There’s a quote towards the end of the book that aptly sums this up, “…now he’d know what it meant to be trapped between his conscience and his pride. It was never as black and white as he thought, the decisions of love and duty.”

Yooojin Grace Wuertz has written a book with a lot of promise. Her female characters, Namin and Jisun, are stronger than Sunam, her male character. Individuals at the beginning of the book, such as Juno, Min, and Peter Lowell, who play a rather prominent role at first seem to disappear in later chapters, as does Jisun’s fervent desire to help the poor and working class. This said, I still enjoyed the book and would recommend it as an introduction to the rather recent and exciting collection of Korean fiction focused on this period of time.

Sunam, Jisun, and Namin are all students at the prestigious Seoul National University, but that’s pretty much all they have in common. Namin comes from a poor family, where both parents and her older sister all work to put Namin through college. She wants to become a doctor to lift her family out of poverty. Sunam comes from a middle class family, and is trying to make connections with rich people to ease his way into the world of business. He, too, is the only child in the family to go to university. Jisun comes from an insanely wealthy family; her father assumes she will take over his business when the time comes. But, despite her life of privilege, she is obsessed with the rights of the working poor.

Odd a group as they seem, they become friends- and more. Their relationships are not easy ones; it’s hard to overcome the barriers of money and class- and what their families expect of them. This is their coming of age story.

Set in South Korea in 1978, it’s a time of great change politically and economically. Unions are forming, protests are being staged, and state police are cracking down on activists. The story shows how these pressures affect the characters and their families, and on one level it’s a really good social novel. But it devolves into a soap opera situation and never really recovers from that.

I liked the characters of Namin and Jisun (although I didn’t like some of the choices Jisun made; on the other hand, I applauded one thing she did), but disliked Sunam. Or, rather than dislike, I didn’t feel anything for him- he doesn’t have much personality. The ending left me wanting something more- the three main characters ended up just as one expects from the story, and it’s so abrupt that I felt like the author wanted to tie it up as quickly as possible. I’d give three and a half stars if I could.

When I received this book from NetGalley to read and review, I was excited. I spent over a year in South Korea, a bit before the time frame of this book, but still, I felt it would help me remember my days there, while providing me a good picture of the lives of young South Koreans. In the book, we encounter three main characters. Jisun, the wealthy daughter of a tycoon, is a rebel, trying to distance herself from the life she has led through her activism while a student. Namin, daughter from a poor Korean family, who takes her studies seriously and is trying to raise her family out of their impoverished lives. Sunam just wants to gain access to an upper crust social club, the Circle, with little care for much else. He is the character I never felt I could imagine being my friend or liking. This story follows these young Koreans through this tumultuous time in South Korea. While the author does develop the two female characters well enough for them to grow on me and to get me to like them as students and future professionals in this society, I never really felt them become a part of me as book characters often do. As for Sunam, I had difficulty just accepting who he was and his place in the story.

The story starts off slowly and only really gained my full attention after reading a good portion. After finishing the book, I wondered what I was supposed to have learned from this glimpse into the lives of these young people. The book did give me a feel for life in South Korea during this time, but I felt as if I needed more. I enjoyed reading about an area with which I was somewhat familiar since I had spent some months there, but I nevertheless came away wondering about South Korea and the book’s message. The writing was good, though I did not think it was as even as it could have been throughout. The book does give a good idea to the reader about life in South Korea during that time frame. Thus, it will be of interest to the reader looking for this or something a bit different. For me, however, the book just did not do it. It was good, but not a book I will remember very much now that I have finished it.