The Last Story of Mina Lee

Mina is Margot’s mother. She left Korea after two tragedies: The war separated her from her parents, and then a car accident killed her daughter and husband. Once she arrives in America, she becomes disillusioned quickly. The country of opportunity does not seem to want her. She takes refuge in Korean TV, cuisine, and language, actively resisting assimilating into America. She is pessimistic and wary of emotional attachments. Any time she gets close to someone, she thinks about how painful the inevitable loss will be. Her brief relationship with Mr. Kim reminds her that she is capable of happiness, but she loses him as well. She is hard working, a loving mother, and psychologically damaged from her traumas. Her relationship with Mrs. Baek helps her understand that she deserves kindness.

Mina’s resistance to learning English and her very different upbringing make communicating with Margot difficult, and while she works tirelessly to give Margot a better life than she had, Margot does not realize this until after her mother’s death. Mina believes that she is protecting Margot from harm by keeping secrets from her about her life, and these secrets set Margot on her quest to learn more about her mother’s life and her own.

Mrs. Baek is Mina’s friend. She is the novel’s most independent woman other than Mrs. Kim. Mrs. Baek is educated, having graduated with a degree in English literature. She gets more sustenance from art and music than from most relationships and claims that she is never bored.

Mina observes, “Unlike so many women, Mrs. Baek didn’t seem to mind taking up time and space, spreading herself out” (119). She distrusts men, a result of an abusive relationship and Mr. Park’s harassment. She says that Mina saved her. Mina causes the accident that kills Mina. She then kills Mr. Park, an act of defiance and rage against the damage he has caused and the women he has terrorized.

Mr. Kim is Margot’s father. He has a brief romantic relationship with Mina before reuniting with her after 26 years. He is kind and considerate. He gives Mina little gifts at work while asking nothing in return, and he is brave enough to protect his coworker Lupe from Mr. Park’s attempted assault. This courageous act costs him his job, his home, and his relationship with Mina. Decades later, after he learns he is dying of cancer, he dedicates himself to helping Mina find her parents. He never learns that Margot is his daughter, which is all the more poignant because he lost his own father in the war. Mr. Kim is an example of a Korean American who still finds things to love about America. For Mina, he is a symbol of hope and that it is worth loving people, even though all relationships end someday.

Mrs. Kim had an open marriage with Mr. Kim. She is the most liberal, affluent woman in the book. Her experiences with men and trauma have left her hollow. She even says, “I used to feel so much, you know? But feelings are dangerous” (203) She is glamorous but seems empty to Margot. However, she chooses to talk with Margot when she has no obligation to do so. After Mr. Kim’s death, she has plans to sell the supermarkets she owns and travel the world. Other than Mrs. Baek, she is the only woman in the book who unapologetically pursues her own desires and aspirations.