45 pages 1 hour read

Kyung-Sook Shin

Please Look After Mom

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2008

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter 3Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 3 Summary: “I’m Home”

So-nyo’s unnamed husband narrates Chapter 3 in the second person. When he leaves Hyong-chol’s house and returns home to Chongup, he meets a young woman named Tae-Hee Hong who is looking for “Auntie Park So-nyo” (123). Though confused, the husband lets the woman in. Tae-hee is from an orphanage called Hope House. She reveals that So-nyo frequents the orphanage to clean; she also gives 450,000 won (about $400) to Hope House monthly. In turn, Tae-hee reads books to So-nyo. Now, the children and staff have grown concerned because So-nyo hasn’t visited in a while. So-nyo’s husband feels blindsided by this news; he never knew So-nyo visited an orphanage and that she donated money. He then recalls So-nyo asking to keep the money the children sent to them monthly—450,000 won. He never asked why she wanted it.

Tae-Hee explains that So-nyo practically adopted a boy named Kyun, promising to fund his middle school studies. At the mention of the child’s name, So-nyo’s husband’s demeanor changes and “a chill comes over [his] heart” (127). Tae-Hee then shows So-nyo’s husband the book she’d been reading to So-nyo: It is one of Ch-hon’s books, though Tae-Hee clearly doesn’t know that So-nyo’s daughter wrote it.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
Unlock IconUnlock all 45 pages of this Study Guide
Plus, gain access to 8,500+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
+ Mobile App
+ Printable PDF
+ Literary AI Tools