With Her Oil Lamp On, that Night""With Her Oil Lamp On, That Night" is a fine example of Lim's short stories. Through the death of an innocent lad, it poignantly depicts the nature of the Korean War, putting its arbitrary division of enemy and ally into question. Written in poetic prose that makes the ironic contrast between the peaceful yet awesome beauty of nature and the homicidal necessity of the war more conspicuous, it artistically excels Lim's other better-known stories. With a small countryside train station as its setting, "Sapyong Station" examines various aspects of underprivileged life illuminated by the passengers waiting for a snow-delayed train. The passengers gathered at the station - farmers, street peddlers, a country girl turned to a bar-maid, a criminal just released from the prison, an expelled student - are themselves like the forgotten station bypassed by the express trains and lead a grim life under the shadow of the military regime and rapid industrialization. However, rather than questioning the social causes of this dire reality, the story leads the reader to dwell on the meaning of life itself without sentimentality." --cover page [4]. |
Common terms and phrases
Agnita Ahn Jung-hyo anyway bamboo bench body breath bundle burst Cheongpung-ni Choe seobang Chunsim classroom clothes cold college student corvina coughing crazy woman damned Dandelion House dark door dream dried pollack evacuation order eyes face farmer fat woman father flame flashing gaze girl in trench glance hair handful of sawdust head Heo's hill hometown husband kingpin Korean Literature leaving Library of Korean light live mad woman middle-aged woman millet momentarily moon moonlight mother Mount Mudeung mountain muttered never night Oil Lamp Old Heo old man's old stationmaster paddies passengers persimmon plantain lily Portable Library prison quiet rice Sapyong Station Sapyong woman sawdust stove Short Fiction smile snow someone sound staring stationmas suddenly sure sweet potatoes tears thing thought town train Trans trench coat turned village waiting room wall wind window windowpanes women wonder wood Yi Sang young zelkova