Narrative
까마귀
Not translated into English
Yi Tae-jun · 1936
Synopsis
A penniless man of letters obtains from a friend permission to lodge in the annexe of his villa. There he makes the acquaintance of a young woman who has come to treat her tuberculosis in the neighbourhood, and grows attached to her over the course of their meetings. She confesses to him, according to the profile of the author published by the Korean translation agency, her fear of the crows that haunt the place, and he decides to kill them for her.
Context
The story appeared in January 1936 in the review Jogwang. Its author was then writing modernist stories in which, according to his American publisher, he defended the Korean language and the power of art under colonisation. The Korean translation library reports that critics reproached the text for ignoring the historical situation, and that more recent readers have praised its lyricism. Everything in it hinges on the relationship between two isolated characters, one without resources, the other ill, and on the presence of the black birds around the house.
Who it is for
A short narrative with little action; the author's French collection published in 2013 could not be examined.
Prizes and reception
Banned in the South for a long time, like all of its author's work, until 1988; no translation of this story is recorded.
Sources for this page 4
The pages consulted to check this page.