ior to the Japanese occupation, the dominant aristocratic class, called Yangban, constituted the upper echelon of the social hierarchy, and served in the ranked positions in the civil and military bureaucracy. They either worked for the government, or engaged themselves in the intellectual and cultural professions. The Yangban class deemed themselves superior to any manual labor. This is why Haesu is deeply humiliated by her menial jobs in America, while Chun accepts them quite well. Below the Yangban class were the middle people, such as medical professionals and technical specialists, and below them came the commoners, called Sangnom, who were classified into three social categories with the peasants at the top, followed by the artisans and the merchants. Below the commoner class were the untouchables, which included slaves, domestic servants, butchers and others who were engaged in socially undesirable professions. And these social ranks were almost hereditary and determined geographical districts and social relationships. Generally, members
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