Maija was interviewed by CBS Radio’s Benji Cole, host of the program “People of Distinction,” on July 6, 2023.
This is an extremely important interview in which Maija discusses her 4-time award-winning autobiographical book, The Voices of Heaven, as well as what readers will be welcomed to in the book: about Koreans, their language (the closest to Hungarian), how much blood and guts they shed to maintain their nation and culture, and history distinct from China and Japan.
Maija was interviewed by CBS Radio’s Benji Cole, host of the program “People of Distinction,” on July 6, 2023.
“
Interview with international and educational video film producer, Armando F. Sanchez of the Armando F. Sanchez Productions International.
This is about the Korean ‘comfort women’ of WWII. In it, I read 3 poems about them (in Korean).
In this interview, hosted by Armando F. Sanchez, I read two poems. One is an environmental poem, “Chunks of Iceberg Clouds Miscarry.” The other is about clipping the poems published in the New Yorker Magazine and recycling them, “Recycling the New Yorker Poems.”
The Voices of Heaven, my autobiographical novel about growing up in Korea, a man’s love for two women (his wife and his second wife he lives with in the same house), what they go through during the Korean War (1950-1953) and their post-war lives through 2005 is being read by social studies students in Korean International School in Seoul. One of the 8th graders wrote an exceedingly intelligent and moving review of the book and posted it on Goodreads.com. Here is the link. I also copy the review here.
(1) A review of The Voices of Heaven by an 8th grader at Korean International School, 11/18/21 on Goodreads website:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4345031369?book_show_action=false
Want to Read
Rate this book
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Maija Rhee Devine (Goodreads Author)
Hannah‘s review
Nov 18, 2021
it was amazing
bookshelves: school-read-8, favorites
I thought that this book was beautifully written and carefully crafted in order to extract certain reactions and emotions from the reader especially in terms of connecting with each of the characters. I think that by alternating between the different perspectives of Soo-yang, Gui-young, Eum-chun and Mi-Na, it gives so much more depth to the story. Each character holds their own burdens and internal struggles as they try to uphold cultural traditions. I think it is admirable how the author refuses to take out or white wash any of the content and overall, it’s brutally honest and accurate on every event that occurred.
As a Korean-American growing up surrounded by western culture, concepts like boy-preference or historical events like the Korean War are things that are rather unfamiliar and untouched. But I think that after reading this book, I felt like I was starting to understand the pains and hardships of my parents, my grandparents, and the people who have come before me. I think especially with Mi-Na’s story, even though her struggles are not one that I have directly dealt with, the pressure to fulfill a parent’s expectations and be “good enough” is something that I can sympathize with and is something that is still so common regardless of how much our society has modernized and how much situations have changed. Even though we’re no longer in a war and many of us no longer have to worry about lack of food, we can still see the same themes in our society. I love how this book urges readers to make that connection between the problems in the book and the problems in the world of the readers.
I think that this book is a must-read for anyone regardless of their age or gender and I really enjoyed reading it.
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read The Voices of Heaven.
Finished Reading
November 18, 2021 – Shelved
November 18, 2021 – Shelved as: school-read-8
November 23, 2021 – Shelved as: favorites
(2) All reviews of the VOH posted on Goodreads:
#thevoicesofheaven #patriarchsouthkorea #genderinequality #sonpreference #glassceilingindex #sexratioatbirth #populationimbalance #yinandyang #chinesezodiacsigns #fengshui #koreanproverbs #koreanlanguage #hangul #thekoreanwar #syngmanrhee #harrystruman #genmacarthur #armistic #chineseinkoreanwar
My Tedx Talk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFD-6JFLF5A), in which I discussed how the stories I told in my autobiographical novel, The Voices Heaven, relate to the social injustice issues originating from patriarchal values in Korea and how they STILL maintain dominance over today’s technologically- and economically- transformed, powerful Korea, is being introduced to the students of social studies classes at Korean International School (KIS) in Pangyo, Seoul, this year.
KIS is adhering to Nelson Mandela’s words: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
The attached are lesson plans for discussions of social injustice issues in South Korea, based on the points dealt with in Maija’s TEDx Talk, that have been developed and are in use at KIS. Teachers, librarians, counselors, and so forth, who are working hard on raising the awareness of social justice/injustice issues in Korea and elsewhere are welcome to use these teaching materials in their schools or organizations. The materials can be useful in teaching comparative/world literature classes, as an English literature teacher at Fort Collins High School made use of some years ago, when I gave a book talk.
#genderinequality #sexratioatbirth #SRB #patriarchySouthKorea #genderbasedsalaryinequalilty #KoreaInternationalSchoolSeoul #KoreaInternationalSchoolKorea #NelsonMandela 
The English version of “Aga,” a short story by Lee Bo Hyung, a uniquely Korean love story during WWII. Translated into English by Maija Rhee Devine and published in the Korean-American Short Stories Literary Journal, LA, Vol. 11, California, 2021.
