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A while ago, Gyeong-hwan came home from school on a summer break. The only noticeable differences were that his face was paler and that he wore a fashionable suit with wide-legged pants and a hat with a white brim. He still bragged about what a great place Seoul was and how prestigious his school was, gossiped about movie stars and rounded up neighborhood kids to catch butterflies while singing tacky pop songs. Bau could never approve of such antics.

“인마, 눈 없어!  넌 남의 집 농사 결딴내두 상관없니?” 

“Hey, can’t you see where you’re going? Don’t you care you’re ruining someone else’s crops?” 

“우리 집 땅 내가 밟았기로 무슨 상관이야?” 

“Why do you care if I’m trampling on my family land?”

“우리 집 땅?

 땅은 너이 집 거라두 참외 넝쿨은 우리 집 거잖아.

 우리 집 참외 넝쿨을 결딴내니까 그렇지”

“Your family land? Even if the land belongs to your family, those melon plants belong to my family. You’re ruining my family’s melon plants.” 

“너이 집 참외 넝쿨은 그렇게 소중히 알면서,

 어째 남의 나비 잡는 건 훼방을 놓는 거냐? 나두 장난으로 잡는 건 아냐” 

“If you care so much about your melons, why don’t you care about me catching butterflies? I’m not after them for fun, you know.” 

“장난이 아닌지도 몰라도 넌 나비를 잡는 거고

 우리 집 참외 넝쿨은 거기서 양식도 팔고 그래야 헐 것이거든.

 그래, 나비가 중하냐, 사람 사는 게 중하냐?”

“You may not be doing it for fun, but our melons are for the market. Is your butterfly more important than food for my family?” 

“나두 거기 학교 성적이 달린 거야.

 너이 집 집안 살림을 내가 알게 뭐냐?” 

“My school grade depends on it. What do I care about how your family makes a living?” 

“뭐 인마?  그래서 남의 참외밭을 결딴 내는 거냐?

 나빈 우리집 참외밭에만 있구, 다른 덴 없어?”

“What? So, you’re destroying our melon field? Don’t you have other melon fields to mess up?”

# Interview with literary critic Bang Min-ho

This story about the social class issue in rural communities is seen from a boy’s perspective. Gyeong-hwan’s father was a mareum, the supervisor of a tenant farm, and Bau’s father was a tenant farmer. It was the mareum who had the authority to advise the landowner on which plot of land to lease out to which farmer. Gyeong-hwan’s family owned some land as a mareum, which is why Gyeong-hwan claimed the melon field as his own while Bau asserted ownership of the melon plants. This bitter but funny scene shows how the class issue in rural communities is understood by these boys.  

바우는 산을 내려와 맞은 편 언덕 위로 올라섰다.

그리고 가까운 거리에서 메밀밭을 내려다 보았을 때  

그는 놀라 벌린 입을 다물지 못했다.     

When Bau came down the mountain to take a look at the buckwheat field a little more closely, he was so flabbergasted by what he witnessed that his mouth hung open. 

        

경환이 집 머슴으로 본 사람은 남 아닌 바로 자기 아버지였다.

아버지는 모자를 벗어 들고 나비를 쫓아 엎드렸다 일어섰다 하며

그 똑똑지 못한 걸음으로 밭두덩을 지척지척 돌고 있다.

What he had mistaken for Gyeong-hwan’s manservant was none other than his own father. He had taken off his hat and kept bending down and standing up to chase butterflies. The old man was plodding on the field in staggered steps. 

바우는 머리를 얻어맞은 듯 멍하니 아래를 바라보고 섰다.

그러다가 갑자기 언덕 모래 비탈을 지르르 미끄러져 내려갔다.

Bau stood motionless as if he was hit on the head. Then he suddenly slid down the hill toward the field. 

아버지가 무척 불쌍하고 정답고 

아버지를 위하여서는 어떠한 어려운 일이든지 못할 것이 없을 것 같았다.

바우는 울음이 터져 나오려는 마음을 가슴 가득히 참으며

언덕 아래 메밀밭을 향해 소리쳤다.

Feeling both pity and affection for his father, Bau felt as if he could do anything for him. Holding back the tears from bursting, he shouted toward the buckwheat field.

”아버지.  아버지.  아버지“

“Father, Father, Father!” 

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Hyeon Deok (Born in Seoul, 1909~?)

Debuted with fiction “Namsaengi (Korean Terrapin)” in 1938