Description Sitcom-like Episodes, in Search of Understanding Father Father was a partisan who once roamed Jirisan and Baekunsan mountains with a carbine rifle. Right after Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, he fought for a world of equality but suffered a crushing defeat. His comrades died one by one, and his attempt to rebuild the organization through a feigned surrender also failed. Even so, Father lived his entire life as a socialist in capitalist South Korea. He never gave up his belief that a world of equality would come, and he never turned away from the troubles of complete strangers. 'I' cannot understand such a father — in fact, I find him a little ridiculous. In a world where everyone already eats their fill and receives equal education, Father's behavior, as if a revolution were still imminent, looks to anyone like black comedy. 'I' and Father have run along parallel lines like this for years. And then, that father died — on the dawn of Labor Day, having struck his head against a utility pole. This story unfolds along four main threads. The first is the story between Father and his younger brother, 'Uncle,' with whom he feuded his whole life. Believing the family was ruined because of his 'communist' brother, Uncle is cold enough to hang up without a word upon hearing the call about his brother's death. Having lived his whole life as a drinker, Uncle would occasionally show up at the house and cause a scene, shouting things like, "Were you so great that you ruined this family?" (p. 38). Each time, Father never fought back, only stayed silent. 'I' almost hopes Uncle won't show up at the funeral. Whether or not he will appear becomes the concern of everyone gathered at the funeral hall — and readers, too, will find themselves eagerly wondering the same thing throughout the book. Can the dead father and the living uncle ever reconcile? The second thread follows the friends Father made in Gurye. Their personalities are so varied and vivid that simply reading about them feels like watching a sitcom. There's Mr. Park, Father's childhood classmate and a watch-shop owner, who spent his whole life as a soldier and military training instructor — Father's political opposite, yet also his closest friend. The bickering between these two old men over their differing political views is oddly endearing, and Mr. Park's remark at the end, "Still, he was the best man I ever knew" (p. 47), makes one wish today's politicians could learn something from it. Then there's a girl with bright yellow hair who shows up at the funeral, looking wildly out of place — apparently, she was Father's "smoking buddy" (p. 139). Only Father could have become so close with a seventeen-year-old girl, and true to form, he never missed a chance to lecture her — whose mother is Vietnamese — about 'American imperialism,' which still makes for a good laugh. Beyond these, there's Haksu and many others who each claim to be like a son to Father, along with the almost comical stories of men who once aimed rifles at each other but eventually became friends. Was the Father I Knew Real? The Countless Episodes He Left Behind The third thread is the story between 'I' and Father. The central arc of My Father's Liberation Diary is the process by which a daughter — who struggled through life as 'the daughter of a partisan' — comes to understand her father. As a socialist and revolutionary fighter, he had no practical means of supporting the family, and worse, he never hesitated to "co-sign a loan" (p. 57) for others, which the family blamed for their perpetual poverty. His endless speeches, delivered at any and every moment, felt out of step with the present reality, and because of this, 'I' had always wanted to leave the hometown where Father lived. But after Father's death, 'I' realizes that the father she thought she knew was only a small fragment of who he truly was. His rational, practical sides come to light, along with the bold moments that moved others deeply. Above all, 'I' begins to recall the many moments, long forgotten, when he had loved her. In the end, holding her father's ashes in her hands, 'I' makes one final decision — to send him off in the most 'father-like' way possible. The fourth and final thread consists of episodes between Mother and Father, which lighten the weight of the narrative and bring out plenty of laughter. Mother, a lifelong comrade and a socialist herself, is far more practical than Father, which means Father is constantly on the receiving end of her scolding. Some of it is over small things — not shaking the dust off his clothes, failing to quit smoking or drinking — and some over bigger matters, like co-signing loans that led to the loss of the family's farmland.