A Lucky Day
운수 좋은 날
현진건 · Korean
Kim Cheom-ji, a rickshaw puller in colonial Seoul, has the best day of business he can remember.
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Pagera Editor's Note
Kim Cheom-ji, a rickshaw puller in colonial Seoul, has the best day of business he can remember. Fare after fare comes his way in the rain while his sick wife lies at home asking for seolleongtang. He drinks with a friend, buys the soup, and goes home. Hyun Jin-geon's 1924 story is built entirely so that its last line can land, and it does.
Author
현진건
Hyun Jin-geon (1900-1943) was a Korean novelist and journalist, one of the founders of modern Korean short fiction. A Lucky Day, about a rickshaw puller in colonial Seoul, is built entirely toward its final line. He was imprisoned for his part in removing the Japanese flag from a news photograph.
A Lucky Day
운수 좋은 날
현진건 · Korean
Kim Cheom-ji, a rickshaw puller in colonial Seoul, has the best day of business he can remember.
First paragraph preview
Original (Korean)
새침하게 흐린 품이 눈이 올 듯하더니 눈은 아니 오고 얼다가 만 비가 추적추적 내리었다. 이날이야말로 동소문 안에서 인력거꾼 노릇을 하는 김 첨지에게는 오래간만에도 닥친 운수 좋은 날이었다. 문안에(거기도 문밖은 아니지만) 들어간답시는 앞집 마나님을 전찻길까지 모셔다 드린 것을 비롯으로 행여나 손님이 있을까 하고 정류장에서 어정어정하며 내리는 사람 하나하나에게 거의 비는 듯한 눈결을 보내고 있다가 마침내 교원인 듯한 양복장이를 동광학교(東光學校)까지 태워다 주기로 되었다. 첫번에 삼십 전, 둘째 번에 오십 전 - 아침 댓바람에 그리 흔치 않은 일이었다. 그야말로 재수가 옴붙어서 근 열흘 동안 돈 구경도 못한 김 첨지는 십 전짜리 백통화 서 푼, 또는 다섯 푼이 찰깍하고 손바닥에 떨어질 제 거의 눈물을 흘릴 만큼 기뻤었다. 더구나 이날 이때에 이 팔십 전이라는 돈이 그에게 얼마나 유용한지 몰랐다. 컬컬한 목에 모주 한 잔도 적실 수 있거니와 그보다도 앓는 아내에게 설렁탕 한 그릇도 사다줄 수 있음이다.
English translation (Pagera AI)
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Pagera Editor's Note
Kim Cheom-ji, a rickshaw puller in colonial Seoul, has the best day of business he can remember. Fare after fare comes his way in the rain while his sick wife lies at home asking for seolleongtang. He drinks with a friend, buys the soup, and goes home. Hyun Jin-geon's 1924 story is built entirely so that its last line can land, and it does.
Author
현진건
Hyun Jin-geon (1900-1943) was a Korean novelist and journalist, one of the founders of modern Korean short fiction. A Lucky Day, about a rickshaw puller in colonial Seoul, is built entirely toward its final line. He was imprisoned for his part in removing the Japanese flag from a news photograph.
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