Cloud Atlas

by

David Mitchell

Boom-Sook Kim is a postgrad student at Taemosan who enjoys drinking, gambling, and crossbow hunting. He ostensibly uses Sonmi~451 as a research subject, but because he skates by on nepotism and his rich father, Boom-Sook mostly ignores his work, leaving Sonmi to pursue her own interests. Although Sonmi appreciates her arrangement with Boom-Sook at first, he nearly kills her when he accepts a drunken bet to shook fruit off her head with a crossbow. Boom-Sook represents how the whims of rich buffoons can have life or death consequences for the people around them.
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Boom-Sook Kim Character Timeline in Cloud Atlas

The timeline below shows where the character Boom-Sook Kim appears in Cloud Atlas. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 5
Cycles of History Theme Icon
Slavery and Imprisonment Theme Icon
...her new surroundings much dirtier than the restaurant. Chang leads her to the lab of Boom-Sook Kim, who is annoyed that Sonmi has arrived so early, since it conflicts with a... (full context)
Cycles of History Theme Icon
Slavery and Imprisonment Theme Icon
With Boom-Sook away, Sonmi spends three days at the university doing nothing but staying in place and... (full context)
Greed Theme Icon
Slavery and Imprisonment Theme Icon
Boom-Sook is no Abolitionist, but he drinks and gambles a lot because he has a rich... (full context)
Cycles of History Theme Icon
Greed Theme Icon
Slavery and Imprisonment Theme Icon
One day, Sonmi overhears another student, Hae-Joo Im, telling Boom-Sook that a mutual friend of theirs accidentally burned Wing~027 up in an experiment. The other... (full context)
Cycles of History Theme Icon
Greed Theme Icon
Slavery and Imprisonment Theme Icon
Over the summer recess, Boom-Sook is supposed to lock Sonmi up in a holding room, but he doesn’t bother. He... (full context)
Cycles of History Theme Icon
Greed Theme Icon
Slavery and Imprisonment Theme Icon
One snowy night, on Sextet Eve, Boom-Sook and some of his friends (including Hae-Joo Im) get drunk. Boom-Sook’s friend taunts him, saying... (full context)
Cycles of History Theme Icon
Greed Theme Icon
Slavery and Imprisonment Theme Icon
Just then, Boardman Mephi storms in. Boardman Mephi scolds Boom-Sook and calls Chang to come in. Chang treats the injury on Sonmi’s ear. Mephi informs... (full context)
...her brain. Mephi wanted to just let her remain undisturbed for the time being, but Boom-Sook’s crossbow game forced them to act. Now, Mephi proposes that Sonmi should become a student... (full context)
Cycles of History Theme Icon
Slavery and Imprisonment Theme Icon
...orders, a postgrad named Hae-Joo Im comes to Sonmi’s apartment. He is a friend of Boom-Sook’s who was there when Boom-Sook fired the crossbow at Sonmi. He is nervous around Sonmi... (full context)