Adina's+Cranes

// Cranes // by Hwang Sun-won

Summary: This story is set during the Korean War. Song-sam lives in a small village along the thirty-eighth parallel, the dividing line for North and South Korea. Song-sam approaches a man he thinks to be a stranger, tied up in front of a farmhouse. After he talks to the police officer he discovers the man is Tok-chae, his boyhood friend, and now a prisoner. Song-sam volunteers to take Tok-chae to Chongdan and Song-sam remembers all the times they shared when they were younger. As they continue to walk, Song-sam remembers when they caught a crane. Song-sam suggests a crane hunt, just like old times. As the end of the story unfolds, cranes fly in the distance. About the Author: Hwang Sun-won was born in Korea in 1915. After World War II and the end of Japanese control over Korea, Hwang and others living in northern Korea fled to escape communist oppression. Hwang and his family settled in Seoul for a time, but again fled when Seoul was invaded. The end of the Korean War brought little happiness to those in Southern Korea, for their country was still divided and many families and friends were separated. In Hwang's writing he shows how the division of the country is cruel. Hwang has recently becomes one of the first Koreans to have his stories translated into English.

My Opinion: I would definitely recommend this story for others to read. At first it is slightly confusing, because the main character keeps having flashbacks to when he was young. But the meaning of the story immediately becomes clear at the end, when Song-sam makes his choice about Tok-chae. This story shows goodness, forgiveness, and illustrates personal definitions of justice.

Literary Analysis: