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Images in this online exhibit are either in the public domain or being used under fair dealing for the purpose of research and are provided solely for the purposes of research, private study, or education

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Images in this online exhibit are either in the public domain or being used under fair dealing for the purpose of research and are provided solely for the purposes of research, private study, or education

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Questions related to the theme of childhood and the city were: is it dangerous for a child to walk alone in the city, and why do families who do not have time for their children live in the city. When researching these questions, more questions arose regarding neglect and the impact of this on families, as well as why families choose to live in the city, and how this can lead to disadvantaged lives. These are all answered through the Sun Hee and the Street Boy, “Is there Room for Families in the Inner City? Life-Stage Blenders Challenging Planning” and “Dissatisfaction with city life: A new look at some old questions”. In conclusions the city can be dangerous for children, not just physically but mentally. This is sometimes unavoidable however, due to the fast-paced lifestyle of the city, and the convenience of having to life there for families who are disadvantaged or in need of what the city can provide.

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The other two photographs are more of a two in one, by Jim Goldberg (American, B. 1953)  as they come from the same series, Rich and Poor in Gelatin silver prints, the first one being “Clara M. Serrato, 1984 (printed 1998)” and the second “Emily S., 1983 (printed 1998)”. The first picture depicts two women, one seems to be an American born woman, and the second is a woman born in Guatemala, who was a nurse but became a housekeeper in the U.S.A. Her caption below the picture makes her unhappiness evidence. The on looker can again speculate, that she was an immigrant looking for a better life, as they usually do when they come to North America, but instead her ethnicity leaves her with a unhappy life, and to further speculate, this can be because she is living in the city or the only job available was this one because nothing else was available to her, just as Sun Hee’s mother who took up sewing as a job. These women took everyday household activities and turned into their job just to make ends meet. In the second picture, it seems to be a mother and a daughter, whose caption is “We look like ordinary people! We have a terrible life.” The background seems to be tight space with older style furniture, which can mean it was a a home in the city, as old apartments for example are common there, and most immigrant families can afford only that. Berry and Okuliez-Korazaryn mention that higher density population areas can mean unhappiness in the community. Population growth came from migration, “high population density produced frequent physical contacts, high-pace living, and both class-based and ethnic segregation” (Berry and Okuliez-Korazaryn, 118). Class division and ethnicity play a part in the unhappiness of the two immigrant women in the pictures.

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At the Ryerson Image Centre, there was a photography collection by Harold and Carole Tanenbaum, used in the “True to the Eyes” exhibit. In this exhibit, three photographs seemed to connect to the theme of childhood in the city. The first one was two girls in a kitty pool, one sitting in the background, one standing up smoking a cigarette, by Mary Ellen Mark (American, 1940-2015) called “Amanda smoking with her cousin Amy, Valdese, North Carolina, 1990 (printed 2005). The first thought of any onlooker must be, “where are her parents?” The child looks no older than eight years old, and in the camera no adult is seen. Amanda seems to be smoking without any problem like she is used to it, and again the onlookers might speculate as to why she is smoke, and may start to reason with a simple, her parents don’t care. They may not care because they are too busy, and they might be busy because of they have a fast-paced life, which can take place in the city. Amanda’s parents neglect could have led to deviant behaviour as Berry and Okuliez-Korazaryn had mentioned in their essay.

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Brian Berry and Adam Okuliez-Korazaryn work together to also answer questions regarding satisfactions or dissatisfactions that come with city living, in “Dissatisfaction with city life: A new look at some old questions”. They say, in statistical assessments for city growth, that “the most hopeless poverty as well as the most splendid wealth, were found in the cities” which means the city grew, and this growth was “fed by massive migration that produced marked heterogeneity of their inhabitants” (Berry and Okuliez-Korazaryn, 118). A high population density means a fast-paced lifestyle, and those who are unable to find security in this life “in some specialized role or segregated sub-area, the likelihood of dysfunctional, deviant or pathological behaviour was seen to increase” (Berry and Okuliez-Korazaryn, 118). When living in a fast-paced environment, finding security is difficult, especially when struggles are already present, like Sun Hee’s guardians not being able to supervise her. No doubt, Sun Hee is impactd greatly because of this. Despite being only eight-years old, she understands her mother and grandmother are both under constant stress of having to work and trying to make ends meet with their income and groceries, so instead Sun Hee says nothing to them about her lunch being stolen and her run in with the street boys. On another hand, a fast-paced city life can lead to neglect, by accident or on purpose, which can lead children to a deviant life style. The street boys in the story can have similar circumstances to Tiger, which no parents at all, or similar circumstances to Sun Hee, but instead have an outcome like Tiger.

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Learning of the unfortunate events of both children, as well as the circumstances they must live through to make ends meet raises many questions and one serious issue, of children living in the city, is it dangerous? McKim’s story is fictional, but she does draw from real life when she mentions children walking the city streets on their own. Danger isn’t always present, but there is always a potential for danger. Sun Hee and Agga were only eight and three years old. For them to be walking alone during the early hours of the morning before complete sunrise is not safe, as is clearly evident when they get pushed around and their personal belongings get stolen by street boys. If the city is dangerous for children, then why do families live in the city. Johanna Lilius discusses whether or not a city is an ideal place for families, in “Is there Room for Families in the Inner City? Life-Stage Blenders Challenging Planning”. Lilius mentions in this essay, that “the need to live in the city was motivated by the growing number of employment opportunities for both male and female professionals and managers within central cities” (Lilius, 843-844). Of course, this essay was published in 2014, but it may hold true to the story as it was set in 1960s. It is mentioned that Sun Hee’s mother did sewing for her job, and they found a place to live, as it was provided to them by Mr. Oh Song, who had promised Sun Hee’s father he would take care of his family. A life in the city does not seem appropriate for raising a family, but Lilius says, “research addressing families in the inner city have often concluded that living in the inner city makes it easier to find a work-life balance” (Lilius, 844). It would seem, the main reason families choose to live in the city is due to the work opportunities. Just as Sun Hee’s family, many other families can be desperate for work, and would do anything to make ends meet, which explains why in the story Sun Hee’s mother and grandmother live in the city, they have work and they got lucky with a roof over their heads, which can be hard to come by with rent and finding a place, despite this one still being too small and crammed for the five of them living together. Lower income families may feel desperate to find work wherever they can, under any circumstances, and in the case of Sun Hee, her any circumstances was no supervision on her way to school.

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Sun Hee and the Street Boy is a children’s fictional story written by Audrey McKim. It is set in Seoul Korea in the 1960s. The story follows an eight-year girl whose name is Sun Hee, who walks her younger sister, who goes by Agga, to her nursery, on her way to school. The two sisters have no choice but to go to their destinations on their own, as their mother and grandmother, must work, and their young uncle goes to school in the opposite direction. Sun Hee and Agga get into some trouble on their dreaded morning walks, through the shadowy lane, down a hill, in between broken buildings and tumbledown shacks. The two sisters have a run in with a gang of street boys, who push them around and steal Sun Hee’s lunch. This happens more than once, but on the second time, one of the street boys Kim Ho, who goes by Tiger, comes to the girls after their mishap with the street boys, but is chased off by onlookers. The day after this, when Sun Hee and Agga are en route to the nursery, Tiger finds them, and before the girls come across the street boys, Tiger leads them a different way. This is when Tiger’s back story is discovered. His family was killed due to the war and he had no home, so he had no choice but to resort to living on the streets. Sun Hee’s back story is also mentioned. Her father was killed in the war and she lives in a small cramped room provided by a friend of her father’s and her mother and grandmother, both have to work otherwise they cannot afford to live in this room.

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Sun Hee and the Street Boy in Relation to Childhood and the City 

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Sun Hee and the Street Boy in Relation to Childhood and the City 

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Ruby Sahota

Naomi Hamer

ENG 810

April 25, 2019