In the book, Year of Impossible Goodbyes, bye Sook Nyul Choi, the main character is Sookan. Sookan is a girl who is brave, can take care of others, and is prideful. For example, in her Japanese school, a boy told the Japanese that he and other Koreans were going to help kill them. Instead of being quiet, Sookan started to clap for the boy. Sookan was born in Kirimni, Pyongyang(North Korea) and lives with her mother, aunt, younger brother, and her grandfather who dies later in the book. To her family, she is a helpful girl who has respect for her own nationality and for her own family. Although she is nine years old, she is small for her age, and can attend school later then other nine year olds, because they think that she is less than nine years old. She hates the Japanese for taking away her father, brothers, and the sock girls. Although she hates the Japanese, she knows that she must respect them and follow their rules in order to not get punished. Then finally when the Japanese lost the war and the Russians invaded, Sookan is happy for a while, then starts to cry because the Russians took away her mother. Sookan is a girl who cares for her family members, is very brave, and extremely prideful for her country which is Korea.