“The boy had an ideal face that I have always imagined from the moment I picked up a brush. I have always desired to paint a face that was extremely gentle and beautiful, endlessly calm and well-mannered, clear and innocent, and passionate. I used to carefully look at people’s faces when I walked down the street or rode on the tram. Nothing else interested me. I only wanted to draw such a face for once in my life.” 

Sun-hee is 32 years old and Jeong-gyu is 19. He could become Sun-hee’s brother-in-law and reminded her of her own son. All these factors make their relationship very risky. But why did the author put the two characters in such a dangerous relationship? It was because writer Baek Shin-ae wanted to show how a social taboo and human desire clash. During the Japanese colonial period, women had to fight against many social taboos as they tried to choose the lives they wanted to lead. Women of the era were tormented by guilt and criticism as they battled old conventions and social prejudice, while some women gave up their dreams and desires by going along with the taboos. This story shows the lives of women through Sun-hee’s dramatic situation. Using vivid emotional descriptions, the writer showed the depth of despair and sorrow that most women probably felt back then. 

Baek Shin-ae (Born in Yeongcheong, Gyeongsangbuk-do Prov., May 19, 1908~Jun. 25, 1939)

Debuted with short story “My Mother” in 1928