Blue-skinned teen struggles with identity, alienation in 'Melanin'

"My skin is blue, and my mother is Vietnamese. I don't know which is the bigger problem," begins Ha Seung-meen's award-winning novel “Melanin.”

The coming-of-age novel follows Jae-il, a teenage boy born to a Korean father and a Vietnamese mother, as he grapples with life in a world that rejects him for his strange blue skin and his multicultural heritage.

His unusual complexion becomes a marker of alienation, making him a target for ridicule and bullying from classmates. At home, his authoritarian father offers little comfort, while the scorn of neighbors only deepens his isolation.

Jae-il finds solace in his mother, a resilient Vietnamese immigrant who carves out a new life in Korea with determination and grit. But she eventually abandons him, never to return, just as the family prepares to immigrate to the US. Adrift, Jae-il faces another wave of harsh realities in America -- new violence and rejection, with no one to lean on.

At its core, “Melanin” is a coming-of-age story about identity, discrimination and the complexities of diaspora. Ha also intertwines Jae-il’s journey with some real-world events like the 9/11 attacks and mass shootings in America. This backdrop creates a powerful narrative that explores the brutal realities minorities face.

Still, while confronting these challenges, Jae-il holds on to his dignity, and the novel underscores the resilience of the human spirit in the face of prejudice, loss and societal rejection.

Ha, who worked for over a decade in the IT and mobile banking industries before transitioning to a full-time writer in 2020, won the 29th Hankyoreh Literary Award this July. “Melanin” emerged as the unanimous choice among 240 entries, securing the support of all seven judges. Since its establishment in 1996, the award has helped launch the careers of many bestselling authors, including Yun Ko-eun, Chang Kang-myoung and Park Seo-lyeon.

Ha said Jae-il’s blue skin was an allegorical choice aimed at universalizing the experience of discrimination and marginalization.

"I wanted to address the broader issues of prejudice and rejection, rather than focus on a specific minority group,” said Ha in a recent interview with reporters.

Although he has not directly experienced diaspora himself, Ha spent years meticulously researching and conducting interviews to ensure the novel’s authenticity.

“I knew that to give the story a sense of realism, I needed thorough preparation,” Ha said. “As I mentioned in the bibliography, I consulted many reference materials, interviewed people who attended middle and high schools in the US, and spent a week with an elderly couple from Mississippi, conducting interviews about discrimination in America.”

As the setting moves from Korea to the US, Ha said he sought to explore how individuals can become the targets of discrimination when they cross into foreign lands. A key example is Jae-il’s father, who shifts from being an agent of discrimination in Korea to a victim of it in America.

“I wanted to depict the reversal that happens when the oppressor becomes the oppressed. By relocating the narrative to the US, the dynamics of power shift as well, with those once in control now finding themselves on the receiving end of discrimination.”

In the author's note, Ha mentioned the need for "horizontal" solidarity rather than "vertical."

"Vertical solidarity is shaped by factors we're born into -- such as nationality, gender or other identities we can't escape. When we define ourselves by these vertical lines, we risk becoming entrenched in a class-based society," explained Ha.

"But I think the people we should stand in solidarity with are found horizontally. In this way, characteristics like skin color lose their significance. Once we strip away these superficial markers, we begin to see others for who they truly are and discover the people we should truly unite with. That’s the journey of growth I aimed to portray in the story."

The 43-year-old author shared his aspiration as a writer to continue crafting engaging stories that also offer a critical examination of society.

“The core human values we should protect are collapsing in the name of pragmatism. The world is in disarray,” Ha said. “In the past, at least people felt some shame in harassing or persecuting others. But I don't think that's the case anymore. I hope my writing can act as a brake on this tendency.”