Fourteen years after the release of Japanese American Yoko Kawashima’s highly controversial children’s book, So Far From the Bamboo Grove, in which some claimed misrepresented Koreans as antagonists to their Japanese colonizers during WWII, Joon Ja Kim and Dona M. Dietz hope to bring a balanced perspective to the issue with their English translation of The Lost Mother. The wartime memoir was originally written in Korean by a Japanese-Korean Buddhist monk known as Iltang. KoreAm chatted with Kim.

Why did you decide to translate this story?
My biggest issue was with So Far From the Bamboo Grove. Korean kids studying Korean culture and language in New York didn’t like it, so they wouldn’t come to class. A friend who was a teacher said she always wished she had a good book to give them.

How did you identify with Iltang?
I had experienced war. It was all an unnecessary evil. Iltang understands pain and is now able to see it as a beautiful experience, something that comes particularly with age.

In the book, Iltang’s mother gave up family for her spiritual journey. As a mother yourself, how did you feel about her choice?
I couldn’t do it! She’s a special person. It’s not something many people would be able to handle.

In your opinion, what needs to happen in the still-bitter relationship between Japan and Korea?
It has to progress. There is no choice. Even though it is bitter on the inside, both countries need to aim for overall peace. Both sides need to try and understand each other.