So I took this once in a life time class (meaning offered just once) intro to korean film, lit and language during my feb break. It was all about korea’s history and some culture.
Not surprisingly, I loved it.
My final project was to write something like a special insight to the story, another story related to the main story. I chose “사랑방 손님과 어머니” which was translated into English as “Mamma and the boarder.”
I STRONGLY recommend it. It is SHORT, cute, and VERY good. (you will know it is good when you read it).
So here is the deal:
please do not read the story bellow unless you have read the main story!
If you can read Korean please read the original; just “Naver” it!!
Or you could read it in English, here is the link: 사랑방 손님과 어머니
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEEEEAASE, read the original story first. "Mama and the boarder."
If you have read the story then you can go ahead and read my pathetic attempt to write an alternative complementary story.
Not surprisingly, I loved it.
My final project was to write something like a special insight to the story, another story related to the main story. I chose “사랑방 손님과 어머니” which was translated into English as “Mamma and the boarder.”
I STRONGLY recommend it. It is SHORT, cute, and VERY good. (you will know it is good when you read it).
So here is the deal:
please do not read the story bellow unless you have read the main story!
If you can read Korean please read the original; just “Naver” it!!
Or you could read it in English, here is the link: 사랑방 손님과 어머니
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEEEEAASE, read the original story first. "Mama and the boarder."
If you have read the story then you can go ahead and read my pathetic attempt to write an alternative complementary story.
Introduction
I have given names (and last names) to the characters. The names of these characters and geographic locations are written in Korean. I made use of the Korean language through this work for two main reasons. The obvious reason is to remind the reader the setting of the story. The second main reason behind my use of Korean is the qualities of the language itself. By using Korean I was able to transmit a message more fluidly than I would have if I used English. No knowledge other than knowing the Korean alphabet is required in order to read this creative project. The honorific suffix”씨” is used more than once. Ssi goes right after the name, and according to Wikipedia, Ssi “is the most commonly used honorific used amongst people of approximately equal speech level.” I strongly suggest re-reading the story and doing research for anything that may raise curiosity to the reader.
Character Korean Revised Romanization
Mother 안정숙 An jeong -suk.
Older Uncle 안현중 An Hyeon -jung.
New "Uncle" 이동성 Yi Dong -seong.
화요일(Tuesday).
I forgot to bring my wallet with me today; fortunately I had some coins in my coat’s pocket so I decided to eat at a Chinese restaurant. Not surprisingly, it was full of Chinese immigrants; maybe things are worst over there. A small girl was eating some 자장면, she seems to be an only child. She had some paste on her nose. She reminded me of that day. She was 6 and I was 5 when we met at what would become our favorite place. I was passing by; my mother had sent me to look for some wood. Then, I saw her sitting down eating a couple of찹쌀떡[1]. She was so busy trying to eat it that she didn’t notice she had some sweet bean paste on her nose. That scene made me laugh. She looked at me and laughed too. She shared some of her 찹쌀떡 with me. That was the same day I met 현중; 정 숙had taken the찹쌀떡from him. No one was taking an exam; they just got them from their mother. Even though she was a girl, she always did what she wanted. I will never forget how I met her; I just didn’t expect to be reminded of her at lunch.
금요 일 (Friday):
I still cannot believe my request to be assigned there was approved. I cannot wait to see정숙. She and my mother were my driving force for studying all these years. It feels as it was yesterday when I set myself that goal, got a prestigious job, and earned enough money in order to ask her to marry me. I studied, I worked, and I lived because of her. The memory of her smile made me daydream; the memory of her voice helped me endure my work. If only my mother had not fallen ill years ago… Now that my mother has stopped suffering and passed to better life, I can go back to our old town. Oh how I resent my stupid embarrassment, why didn’t I express my feeling to her when I could do so? Nonetheless, that would have not made any difference.
일요 일 (Sunday).
정읍[2] looks almost the same as it did more than a decade ago, yet I do not feel at home anymore. Perhaps it is all because of exhaustion. Traveling from 서울to 정 읍is not an easy task.현중was the first person I saw when I left the station. I immediately recognized him. He looked just like he used to look when he was a kid; the only difference was his height- he is even shorter than before. He did not recognize me until I told him who I was. When we arrived to the house, he introduced me to his little niece, 정숙’s lovely daughter. Looking at her made me feel as if time stopped more than 25 years ago, and she hadn’t changed at all. Nonetheless that innocent and playful look in her eyes is exactly the same 경선 had in his eyes when we were children.
수요 일 (Wednesday):
Today, I had some delicious hardboiled eggs for breakfast. However, I need to be more careful in front of옥희 from now on.
I forgot to bring my wallet with me today; fortunately I had some coins in my coat’s pocket so I decided to eat at a Chinese restaurant. Not surprisingly, it was full of Chinese immigrants; maybe things are worst over there. A small girl was eating some 자장면, she seems to be an only child. She had some paste on her nose. She reminded me of that day. She was 6 and I was 5 when we met at what would become our favorite place. I was passing by; my mother had sent me to look for some wood. Then, I saw her sitting down eating a couple of찹쌀떡[1]. She was so busy trying to eat it that she didn’t notice she had some sweet bean paste on her nose. That scene made me laugh. She looked at me and laughed too. She shared some of her 찹쌀떡 with me. That was the same day I met 현중; 정 숙had taken the찹쌀떡from him. No one was taking an exam; they just got them from their mother. Even though she was a girl, she always did what she wanted. I will never forget how I met her; I just didn’t expect to be reminded of her at lunch.
금요 일 (Friday):
I still cannot believe my request to be assigned there was approved. I cannot wait to see정숙. She and my mother were my driving force for studying all these years. It feels as it was yesterday when I set myself that goal, got a prestigious job, and earned enough money in order to ask her to marry me. I studied, I worked, and I lived because of her. The memory of her smile made me daydream; the memory of her voice helped me endure my work. If only my mother had not fallen ill years ago… Now that my mother has stopped suffering and passed to better life, I can go back to our old town. Oh how I resent my stupid embarrassment, why didn’t I express my feeling to her when I could do so? Nonetheless, that would have not made any difference.
일요 일 (Sunday).
정읍[2] looks almost the same as it did more than a decade ago, yet I do not feel at home anymore. Perhaps it is all because of exhaustion. Traveling from 서울to 정 읍is not an easy task.현중was the first person I saw when I left the station. I immediately recognized him. He looked just like he used to look when he was a kid; the only difference was his height- he is even shorter than before. He did not recognize me until I told him who I was. When we arrived to the house, he introduced me to his little niece, 정숙’s lovely daughter. Looking at her made me feel as if time stopped more than 25 years ago, and she hadn’t changed at all. Nonetheless that innocent and playful look in her eyes is exactly the same 경선 had in his eyes when we were children.
수요 일 (Wednesday):
Today, I had some delicious hardboiled eggs for breakfast. However, I need to be more careful in front of옥희 from now on.
목요 일 (Thursday):
Today’s morning reminded me of that day, when we promised we would be with each other always. What did we know back then, I was just 8 years old then. I did not know how the world worked…
I went to visit the hill. I took 옥희with me, I wanted to share with her that special place. This hill brings me back so many good memories. That is the place where we met, that is the place where she took my heart. Alas, I was a coward who never expressed his love.
When we came down the hill 옥희 told me she wished I were her father. I wish she had met경선, he would have been a good father. However, I also wished I were her father.
일요 일 (Sunday).
I finally saw her. She looked gorgeous. She has changed seats; she used to sit in the third row next to the entrance. Now she sits in the second row next to the altar.
화요 일 (Tuesday).
The lilies I asked현중 to bring me from the city survived such distance without withering for nothing. I just did not have the strength, I did not have the courage to give them to정숙.I am just not ready to do it yet. I did not want to throw those beautiful lilies away so I put them in옥희’s classroom early in the morning. I love that girl as if she were my own. I still do not understand why현중 told me about such flowers and asked whether I was interested in buying some. Does he know about my feelings? It is quite suspicious considering that it was him who invited me to rent their room.
Late at night when I was writing this entry, I heard organ play. I could not hear very well but it sounded like that song 정숙practiced at school over and over. This time it had a sadder tone; it moved my heart. It made my pain unbearable. I have to tell her.
정 숙씨， I should have said more than a decade ago: 정숙씨, 사랑합니다. I love you since before my departure to the city. I want to fulfill our childhood’s promise. I want to finally be with you once more. May I woo you? I will try my best to make you happy. Please let me tell you this in person. I will wait for you at our place.
수요 일 (Wednesday)
I have not gone to that hill in a while. 옥희 accompanied me this time. I still don’t know where I got the strength to stop myself from crying in front of her. It was on that hill that we promised we would always be with each other. Our childhood innocence made us think there was such thing as a ‘forever’. The tree under which we made that promise has long been cut down. There was not even a single 무 궁화[3] . It is not the same hill I knew when I was a kid. Life is already predestined for us; there is nothing we can do about it.
토요 일 (Saturday).
Today, when we were having dinner 옥희told me that, she does not know why but, when she passed by the hill she remembered that man who came to live with us for some weeks more than 7 years ago. I cannot believe she stills remembers 동성. She made me think of him, she made me wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t lied…
이 동성씨, I do remember that promise we made to each other. After I met you, a strong feeling took over my heart. We were kids back then, yet you were my dearest person. Moreover when we were teenagers we always found time to be together. But then you left. You promised you would come back. You never did. I married경선, and eventually I started to open my heart to him. That feeling I had towards you, has vanished. I cannot let you woo me, for I do not love you anymore. Please understand.죄송합니다. [4]
[1] Chapssaltteok: traditional Korean rice cakes filled with sweet bean paste
http://www.koreanclass101.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2680&start=0
http://www.koreanclass101.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2680&start=0
[2] Jeongeup is a city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. Its train station is part of the onam Line, wich opened in January 11, 1914.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeongeup
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honam_Line
[3] Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus), national flower of South Korea.
http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/ena/AK/AK_EN_1_4_1.jsp
http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/ena/AK/AK_EN_1_4_1.jsp
[4] “I apologize/ I am sorry”
