IDENTITY, EXILE, AND DAUGHTERHOOD IN THE LANGUAGE OF BLOOD (2003) BY JANE JEONG TRENKA

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the literary work The Language of Blood by South Korean writer Jane Jeong Trenka (2003a), examining the process of constructing cultural identity, exile, and her role as a daughter, being a transnationally adopted individual. The book is a collection of Trenka's memories as a South Korean child sent to the United States to her white adoptive parents. This work also seeks to amplify the voice of transnational adoptees who seek their cultural identity, and the genre Memoir as one of the channels for exposing the issues surrounding transnational adoption. For this, readings were done primarily on cultural identity and difference, exile, memory and identity, and daughterhood in order to understand Trenka's journey through the fragments of her life. Therefore, this research follows the paths traced by the author, from finding her sense of belonging in the blood ties she shares with her biological mother to the discovery of her inner feminine strength. These paths culminate in the journey of the "in-between", which becomes more important than her final destination.