Jaeyoon Song

History flows like a mighty river, but the lives of individuals swept up in its currents are often caught in complex whirlpools that defy even a name. Particularly for those who navigated the harsh eras of modern Korean history, identity is far more than a mere question of nationality; it is a trace of survival, indistinguishable from a scar. Professor Jaeyoon Song, who earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University and currently teaches Chinese history at McMaster University in Canada, wrote the novel "Yoshiko's Flags" as a majestic epic that soothes these scars and asks who we are, and just how noble the time we have endured truly is. Upon its publication, the novel was acclaimed in Canadian and North American literary circles as a masterpiece possessing both academic depth and literary sensibility, praised for elevating the identity confusion faced by immigrant communities into a higher realm of philosophical discourse.