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Book Reviewed by:A sweeping novel about a correspondent trapped behind enemy lines during the Korean War, and the women who help her find her way home, from the national bestselling author of Daughters of Shandong.
When I found the courage to lift my head, I expected to stare down the barrel of a gun, but instead there was a woman in front of me, the back of her white skirt embroidered with columns of yellow chrysanthemums.
1950. It's the coldest winter in decades, and twenty-eight-year-old Chinese American journalist Ellie Chang is on a military flight to cover a battle in the mountains of North Korea when her plane is shot down.
As she emerges from the fallen aircraft onto an icy field surrounded by the enemy, Ellie is sure it's the end, certain she'll never make it home to her parents…until a woman pushes her way through the crowd and claims Ellie as the lost daughter that she's been searching for since the last war ended. Never mind that Ellie doesn't speak a word of Korean.
Ellie is taken in by her rescuer—a woman who calls herself "Emma"—and the Paks, a pastor's family. She knows she can't stay and yet there's no way she'll survive on her own.
As the war intensifies, the sky alighting with bombs overhead, Ellie convinces Emma and the Paks to travel south towards an elusive promise of safety, and where Ellie insists they are more likely to find Emma's real daughter, stuck on the other side of the frontlines.
Emma's decision to claim Ellie, and Ellie's choice to take her hand will connect their lives forever.
Moving and triumphant, The Young Will Remember sheds light on a "Forgotten War," the resilience of love within our darkest histories, and the indefatigable determination of mothers to protect their children.
1
Touchdown
August 12, 2019
Seoul is unrecognizable.
I press my forehead against the plane's window, my breath fogging the view of this flamboyant metropolis. It is silver, with bridges that leap over rivers and roads that whip into mountains, claiming a horizon that was once viridescent. A few years ago, NASA shared an image of the Korean peninsula from space, its southern half flaring with light while the north lay engulfed in darkness. Though I have seen that iconic photo, I am still unprepared to be here.
My son's fingers graze my hand. "Are you okay, Mom?"
A deluge of emotions converge within me, and I cannot tell what I feel, only that it is overwhelming.
"Do you want some water?" he asks, raising his voice and enunciating each word. "Wah-ter?"
This is our first plane ride together, and he believes that he is my chaperone. Though he has his own years mapped in the wrinkles across his face, I don't want to speak until I am steady. Children get upset when they see their parents cry, no ...
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (5/21/2026)
I'm now reading https://www.bookbrowse.com/bb_briefs/detail/index.cfm/ezine_preview_number/23451/the-young-will-remember%20jacket The Young Will Remember by Eve Chung. Her earlier book, Daughters of Shandong , was a 5 star read for me and I think this new one will be as well.
-Diane_Jones
2026 first quarter besties
In general, my Jan - Mar '26 reads were mediocre with quite a few DNFs. However, I did have a handful of favs. Q1 Favs include: Fiction: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans* The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark The Young Will Remember by Eve J Chung (ARC) Non-Fiction: A Flower Traveled in My Blood by H...
-Gabi_J
BookBrowsers Ask Eve J. Chung, author of Daughters of Shandong
It was so nice talking with you, and thank you for your thoughtful questions and kind words about my work! I'm linking here my newsletter (substack) for anyone who wants to stay in touch. I hope to share a sneak peek of THE YOUNG WILL REMEMBER this winter. https://evejchung.substack.com/embed
-Eve_C
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (11/6/2025)
...two absolutely wonderful novels. The first, https://www.bookbrowse.com/bb_briefs/detail/index.cfm/ezine_preview_number/23451/the-young-will-remember The Young Will Remember by Eve J. Chung, won't be out until May - but be on the lookout for it! It's about a Chinese-American woman who is a correspondent during the Korean War. She gets st...
-kim.kovacs
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (10/30/2025)
I finished up a re-read of https://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/4821/daughters-of-shandong Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung in preparation for her visit next week. Enjoyed it even more the second time around. I then hopped to https://www.bookbrowse.com/bb_briefs/detail/in...
-kim.kovacs
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (10/16/2025)
Finished up https://www.bookbrowse.com/bb_briefs/detail/index.cfm/ezine_preview_number/23189/house-of-leaves House of Leaves - fascinating book - as well as https://www.bookbrowse.com/bb_briefs/detail/index.cfm/ezine_preview_number/23249/whalefall Whalefall by Daniel Kraus. Thanks to the folks he...
-kim.kovacs
What I expected was a good historical story; what I found instead was something deeply human, emotional, and unforgettable. Eve J. Chung brings history to life through characters who feel achingly real—flawed, brave, vulnerable, and enduring in ways that linger long after you close the book (Olivia G). Characters are so well defined, I became emotionally attached to their lives. I empathized with them through their decisions and actions (Robin S). Although I knew a certain amount about Japan's colonial relationship with Korea, I was pretty vague about the Korean War itself. To see it portrayed from these women's experiences was illuminating and very moving (J Marie V)...continued
Full Review
(626 words)
(Reviewed by First Impressions Reviewers).
Karissa Chen, author of Homeseeking, A GMA Book Club Pick
The Young Will Remember is a searing indictment of modern warfare and a testimony of human strength. With the same clarity and vividness she demonstrated in her debut, Daughters of Shandong, Eve J. Chung brings us another cast of compelling female characters who must fight for their place in a world that sees them only as collateral. Through this remarkable novel, Chung urges us to consider the human cost of wars, a cautionary tale that still rings relevant today, while reminding us that our humanity is ultimately what will save us. Marjan Kamali, New York Times bestselling author of The Lion Women of Tehran
A searing portrait of war's moral failures and the undying power of a mother's love. While countless narratives chart the experiences of men in war, Chung gives voice to the women who bear the violence, hold families together, and record the truths men want forgotten. A revealing exploration of women during the Korean war whose sacrifice and resilience we must never forget.
Eve J. Chung's historical novel The Young Will Remember explores the history of the Korean War through the perspective of a Chinese American journalist who finds herself in North Korean territory after a plane crash. Falling between World War II and the Vietnam War, both of which were heavily publicized in American media, the Korean War has often been referred to from a US perspective as "the forgotten war," though this international conflict is a key part of American history and has never been forgotten by many. The books below provide further exploration of both the war and its ongoing effects.
Skull Water (2023) by Heinz Insu Fenkl
This novel of Fenkl's follows teenage Insu in 1970s South Korea alongside the wartime memories ...
If you liked The Young Will Remember, try these:
by Heinz Insu Fenkl
Published 2023
A "mesmerizing" (PW, James McBride) "magnificent" (Ha Jin) intergenerational coming-of-age novel set in South Korea—about friendship, belonging, and displacement.
by Eugenia Kim
Published 2019
From the author of The Calligrapher's Daughter comes the riveting story of two sisters, one raised in the United States, the other in South Korea, and the family that bound them together even as the Korean War kept them apart.
by Ha Jin
Published 2005
A powerful, unflinching novel that opens a window on an unknown aspect of a little-known war: the experiences of Chinese POWs held by Americans during the Korean conflict.
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