Soon after losing her own daughter in a tragic accident Hon returns to her childhood home in
the Korean countryside after many years away. Her father a cattle farmer is elderly and
requires her care. He is withdrawn kind but awkward around his own daughter. As time passes
however Hon realises that her father is far more complex than she ever realised. The discovery
of a chest of letters and conversations with his family and friends help Hon piece together the
tumultuous story of his life. She learns of her father's experiences during the Korean War and
the violence of the 19th April Revolution of a love affair and involvement in a religious sect
of his sacrifice and heroism and of the phantoms that haunt him. As she unravels secret after
secret Hon grows closer to her father realising that his lifelong kindness belies a past
wrought in both private and national trauma. More than just the portrait of one man I Went to
See My Father opens a window onto humankind family loss and war. It asks us to look at the
ones we love uncover the secrets they keep and finally see who they really are. Flawlessly
rendered by award-winning translator Anton Hur Kyung-Sook Shin has crafted a novel both
affectionate and epic joyous and lasting.
