“I read the short story “The Road to Sam Po” with the desire to learn about Korea in the process of industrialization, and through the work, I received quite clear understanding, at the same time found similarities between the societies and people of the two countries in the renovation period. That is the interesting thing that this literary work has helped a person who, although not living in the time and space of the past, still feel relatively fully about the previous life in a country he has never set foot in. In other words, this is the magic of the work written by the artistic talent of writer Hwang Sok Young that has brought to readers." (excerpt from the article by author Pham Thanh Huyen).
Journey to discover the beauty of the human soul
After many ups and downs of life in exile, on the road of life, the characters in the work have changed, but that is only the outer shell to fight against the harsh life full of deceit and cruelty.
The initial negative impressions were gradually removed and deep in each soul was the desire for a peaceful life in their homeland. That simple yet noble dream was gradually revealed in the journey to find what they once had. And that dream became the solid foundation for the close friendship built between three strangers.
When he first met Jeong, Young Dal did not have a good impression of Jeong, who he thought “was just a slut who spoke nonsense” and made him “suddenly angry”. But as their conversation continued, Young Dal understood Jeong more and more, “this newcomer’s habit of speaking was always like that”, making Yong Dal “unable to get angry, he could only laugh”. The understanding between the two people gradually expanded. “Looking directly at his face, he did not seem to be a fierce-looking person, the first thing Young Dal thought of was his pleasant attitude, no longer hateful”.
And Jeong's attitude towards Young Dal also gradually became friendlier, he asked Young Dal "very affectionately": "Have you had breakfast yet?". Such seemingly small expressions exuded the warmth of affection, closing the distance between two people who at first seemed to have nothing in common.
Understanding and sympathy for each other were further heightened in the chance encounter between Young Dal, Jeong and Baek Hwa. Before meeting Baek Hwa, Young Dal and Jeong heard about a runaway waitress and the fleeting feeling was “a bit regretful”: “Oh my, if only Baek Hwa were here, she would have asked to sit next to her to pour drinks”. And when they met Baek Hwa on the way through the second village to Gam Cheon, her sharpness to the point of being outrageous surprised the two men: “she curled her lips in contempt of Young Dal’s rude words”, “turned around abruptly, pushed Young Dal in the chest with incredible force and speed”, then “grabbed the cloth bag with one hand, put her hand on her hip” and “spoke”. All of this made Young Dal “keep his mouth wide open, not bothering to stand up but still maintaining that sitting position” and feel “ashamed”, while Jeong had to “try to hold back his laughter”. But behind those actions and words was sincerity and frankness, and that quickly erased the conflicts and connected the three people on their journey to a new life.
The true beauty in the souls of those people is gradually revealed and revealed throughout the journey.
Young Dal is a responsible person when he tells the story to Ok Ja or his last thoughts about Baek Hwa when he said goodbye to her in Gam Choen. In his mind, Young Dal does not allow himself to be with the women he loves while he does not have enough conditions to give them a full life. So when he is unemployed, Young Dal promised Ok Ja "when we have enough money, we will meet again to live together", but currently he is still a "wanderer", and that reality torments him in every sleep: "Every night, I often cannot sleep, because I think of her, I stay awake all night". When he meets Baek Hwa, although he wants to "end his wandering fate", but when the future has no direction, the thought of "having to be capable" comes back to him, and his face "becomes sad and looks aimlessly outside the train station". If a person cannot take care of himself, it will be difficult to take care of his loved ones. Putting the happiness of the person he loves above his own feelings, Young Dal is a man with a strong sense of responsibility. Through Young Dal's story, we can also see the reality that love and life are two completely different things, and there are love stories that end because of that life.
Young Dal, Jeong and Baek Hwa – three people who gradually understand each other better. They no longer speak to each other with rude words, Baek Hwa “is no longer as spiteful as before”, and begins to confide about her life with her two companions. Side by side on the increasingly difficult road, the cold weather, the three people walking on the same road lean on each other, close. The stories of everyday life that seem like jokes make the atmosphere more intimate. Baek Hwa recognizes Young Dal’s very masculine features: “You… are not a bad guy”, “Seeing you blow fire, I find it quite cool”, “Your shoulders are really broad. Sometimes you can carry three people”. As for Baek Hwa, “that face, imbued with the light of fire, is also quite beautiful”. In her, there is still the hidden beauty of a gentle, feminine woman, who knows how to care for others. Baek Hwa's love story with the prisoners: "love in the red light district, even if it is the cry of money, but when you have truly loved once, that faithful love is also very scary". That is the deep desire for love in the soul of a "prostitute who has become a spirit" - whose heart seems to have been swept away by money and the deception of life. Just through a small action of "breaking half of her portion and giving it to Young Dal: - Eat more. You must have lost a lot of strength because you had to carry me" also shows her thoughtfulness. That is also the woman's attachment in the farewells, at the last minute before leaving, "with wet eyes, Baek Hwa smiled" and told her two friends her real name. Between those people, there was no longer any distance, private secrets were also revealed. Perhaps by deciding to say her name, Baek Hwa trusted Young Dal and Jeong completely, and hoped to meet them again one day.
Writer Hwang Sok Young has helped readers gradually discover the bright spots in the souls of the characters, in the words of Vietnamese writer Nam Cao, that is, we need to "try to find and understand" to see the good nature of people: "For the people around us, if we do not try to find and understand them, we will only see them as foolish, stupid, mean, evil, we will never see them as pitiful, we will never love them". Those pearls of the soul are hidden inside the fierce, stubborn appearance of a prostitute or the coldness and mocking voice of Jeong as well as the appearance of "a despicable liberal guy". With a passionate humanitarian heart, writer Hwang Sok Young has brought people back to their true value. The journey to Sam Po is also a journey to find the beauty inside people - people who seem to have been pushed to the end of the road by society but still yearn for a brighter tomorrow, and the good nature intact in their souls will be an extremely valuable asset to help them firmly step on the new path.
“The Road to Sam Po” is a journey of lonely people finding the warmth of humanity, friendship, attachment and sharing.
Young Dal appears right in the first lines of the story, not having a direction for himself, he "stopped for a moment, considering where to go". So what prompted him to follow Jeong - a new acquaintance, who did not even make a good impression on him? Because of the feeling of being alone on that uncertain road, people really want to have friends to walk with to feel more confident, and with Young Dal, "he only knows that walking without a companion, the road will be very far. Even if they go together and then part ways, it is fine, but for now, he wants someone to be his companion". The call of humanity flared up in Young Dal, "he was lost in thought and then walked quickly after that guy" - that is a very real humane action in every person in a situation like Young Dal.
Jeong, at first when Young Dal accompanied him, still had not lost his cold appearance, responding to Young Dal's words with silence or very short sentences. And although "he did not seem to feel cold because he was fully equipped with a fur hat and a field coat, with a very healthy appearance", Jeong still needed a companion. Young Dal's openness gradually changed Jeong, making him more friendly and approachable.
The road ahead became more and more difficult, but together, they “walked confidently together”, “their footsteps continued to extend on the road”. Was the confidence in those two people due to a friendship that had just begun but had already become close?
The reunion with Baek Hwa was very natural, and the three of them “walked together on the snow-covered road”. The three strangers met and gradually became close and intimate along the way.
The most beautiful image in the work is probably the scene of three people sitting by the fire in the cold weather. They come close to each other not only to get the warmth of the fire but also to seek the warmth of human love. The fire of human love is the real and lasting warmth, even though it has just been kindled, it has burned and will burn bigger and bigger to warm the lonely souls not only in the cold of winter but also in their whole lives.
““The Road to Sam Po” - A Journey to Find a New Life
The greatest journey in the work is the journey to find a new page in life, the desire for a better life than the present. This is a truly difficult path and the unexpected changes at the end of that path.
Throughout the work is a journey back to their hometown of Jeong, Baek Hoa and Young Dal's search for a new life. Each person has their own direction but they all meet at the same destination of always aiming and hoping for a better life.
Young Dal wants to escape from his old life, a precarious and unstable life. He wants to find a new beginning, even though he doesn't know where he will go or what he will do, but it will definitely be a new life, better than the present.
Jeong was released from prison after more than 10 years with the desire to return to his hometown to live the life of an honest worker with the skills he learned during his difficult time in prison.
Baek Hoa - a girl whose life drifted in bars, thought she would just live like that, but the desire to start her life over always smoldered inside her every morning when she woke up, and it erupted when she escaped from the bar.
When reading this work, I was very impressed with Jeong's determination to return to build a new life for himself on the beautiful land of his homeland. His direction was very clear from the moment he appeared in the story. When Young Dal said that in this cold winter, Jeong had "chosen the wrong direction, in this winter, it is just a remote place", but he replied very firmly: "That is my hometown", and even though when he returns home, he may not still have any acquaintances, "because I am old, I want to return home". No matter where a person goes and what he does in any corner of the world, they always turn to their homeland, especially after all the ups and downs they have experienced, their homeland is still the most beloved destination. And perhaps this sentiment is the same everywhere, Vietnam also has many works written about people who rebuild their lives on their "native land" like the characters in the works of Anh Duc, Nguyen Khai, Kim Lan, Bui Hien, ...
Jeong's hometown in his memory is so beautiful: "It was a really beautiful island. The land was fertile all around, so you could fish as much as you wanted." Just two short sentences are enough for the reader to see all the pride in Sam Po where Jeong was born and his dream of a wonderful life in the future on that land. Although the road back to Sam Po was still far away, in the "distinct South", he had prepared very carefully and fully for the journey back home, both in terms of luggage, the jobs he learned at the "big house", and two companions on the way made Jeong even more determined. Jeong's destination was very clear from the moment he set out, and was always clear during the journey back home, until he reached Gam Cheon town, it was still unshaken: "I'm going back to Sam Po." It seems like Jeong's will has spread to the readers, I really feel happy when after a long journey he reached the train station to end the very difficult journey. A bright future is just around the corner.
But with just a short conversation with the old man at the train station, Jeong was filled with a sense of loss as if he had just lost something invisible, a vision that suddenly vanished into thin air. Everything became vague and difficult to grasp. As a person who had experienced life, tasting the “taste of life” in prison, he became a person with a lot of life experience, he understood that: “This is the time when the world changed so quickly in just one or two years”. However, he still could not imagine the rapid change of his hometown, of the land where “only fishing and growing potatoes” had now “built many tourist hotels, its complexity is indescribable”, “There were only workers working at the construction site. It even had a market built there”. Jeong’s surprises continued, listening to the old man, Jeong had to continuously ask questions about the images of Sam Po in the past. The loss in spirit is that the images of his homeland are now really just the past - the place that Jeong had thought about and determined to return to, but now to him, it has become "strange". And "when people grow in number, they must change, when people grow in number, they will forget the sky". That sad philosophy pierced Jeong's heart, that loss brought with it the rapid collapse of the dream that seemed very realistic and achievable, of the life of a wooden boat builder that has now become an illusion, "on the old sea, a new road has been filled and built, so what is the use of a wooden boat?". He had "forgotten the clear purpose of his heart" - the goal that he had outlined for a long time and very clearly, and was about to reach when a stumble due to the out of synch with the times, of the time after more than ten years of not returning to his homeland, shattered it and left a big wound in him, "Jeong's feet walked aimlessly".
Reading the end of the work, although the author did not mention Baek Hwa's next steps, perhaps the simple dream of returning to the countryside "to be quiet, to settle down, to farm, and just stay at home" seems to become difficult in a reality that is changing every day.
“The Road to Sam Po” was written in the 70s when South Korea was undergoing economic reform, and the industrialization process was taking place rapidly and strongly. The work mentioned the negative side of this process, rural areas were invested in and developed, but it also caused difficulties in the transition to a new life for farmers, requiring them to change their thinking and occupations to adapt to it. This created quite deep wounds in people who were used to farming and fishing. The writer delved into their psychology to successfully build the character of Jeong - a typical farmer in the vortex of reform.
Reading this short story, I think of the work “Retired General” by Nguyen Huy Tuong written during the period of Vietnam’s renovation. The similarity between these two works is the out of step with the times, the loss and spiritual emptiness of the old man before the dizzying changes of society in the industrialization period. This overlap is probably due to the fact that the two stories were born at different times but were written in similar circumstances - the period when the two countries began to enter the process of industrialization and modernization. It is this similarity that has created the closeness between the literature of the two countries which are very far apart geographically. Perhaps, Vietnam - Korea are two countries thatdistantbut nostrangethanks in part to works like “The Road to Sam Po” and authors like writer Hwang Sok Young.
But the ending of the work does not evoke a feeling of pessimism, but it opens a new path. The reader realizes that these three people will be able to change to adapt to the new life. Jeong thinks of Baek Hwa, "even though each person has a different situation, but maybe the girl will be able to do it." Young Dal, after hearing the story of Sam Po's change, also outlines a new future: "Great, let's go there and find a job in the construction site." And in Jeong's mind, although the spiritual loss cannot be compensated, he quickly reorients himself in reality: "Suddenly, Jeong's thoughts are the same as Young Dal's." That belief, although vague, will be the support for those people to overcome new challenges. And reality has proven that Korea has successfully innovated, bringing a new, beautiful and bright face to the land of Kim Chi.
The Road to Sam Po – The Road that Shows the Artistic Talent of Writer Hwang Sok Young.
One value that cannot be ignored is the very skillful art of describing the exterior of the writer Hwang Sok Young to evoke the mood and situation of the character, contributing to creating a profound meaning for the work.
The impression of nature throughout the work is of contrasts between light and dark, warm air and the cold, icy winter.The exterior of the work has a foreboding meaning..
The opening scene is a warm scene that appears as a bright prelude to the story: “Under the morning sunlight, the barren fields appear more and more clearly; everywhere, mud puddles or frozen streams sparkle with the reflection of the early sunlight”. The morning sunlight is not bright enough to brighten up a bright day, but it makes the scene beautiful in a gentle and warm way. The bare trees, barren fields or mud puddles also shed their darkness, gradually shining brightly. The new sunlight and gentle wind have made everything, even though it is barren, become beautiful, soulful and full of life. Standing in the middle of that scene, Young Dal's heart is also urged to set out, although he does not know the direction, but will be to find a new beginning.
While pondering where to go, Young Dal met Jeong at the moment when “the sun rose, the yin and yang energies were separated”, “here and there were rustling sounds due to the frozen ground, in places hidden by the shadows of the trees or the hills, cracking”, “the sun had begun to melt the ice in the low places, revealing the red muddy puddles”. It seemed that the seeds of life were stirring, the changes in the earth and sky were also beginning to become clearer, like a new signal. And a new person also appeared – the student Jeong was on his journey back to his hometown to build a new life.
The foreboding nature of nature is clearly shown in the closing sentence of the work: “The train ran towards the dark field full of snowflakes.” The road that was so bright and clear at the beginning of the work is now as elusive and unreal as Jeong’s current reality.
Nature sometimes shares the same fate with humans, but sometimes becomes a challenge to overcome.. “The road gradually descended, surrounding the mountain, running along the riverbank, as far as the eye could see. The fields were desolate, and no houses could be seen as before. The dry reeds were swaying in a tangle, and on the other side of the river, everywhere the wind blew sand.” The road that Young Dal and Jeong traveled was getting further and further away from where people lived. The difficulties increased, “the wind blew broken pieces of stone into their faces, causing them to feel pain,” and the way back was still hazy, the snow fell more and more, everything became vague, “on the dry roofs, wisps of smoke were so thin that it was almost impossible to see them dissolving and drifting away.” As the two companions set out, the sunlight gave way to cold, white snowflakes: “The sun was hidden behind low clouds, so the surrounding scenery looked opaque as if seen through yellow glasses.” The journey back to Sam Po was not easy, but Jeong was determined to go, which showed his great will to return to his hometown. And because of the friendship between the three, the more difficult the nature was, the closer they became to each other: “the snow stuck to their feet but they did not feel uncomfortable, on the contrary, they felt warm when looking at the snow”, “when going up the steep path, Young Dal and Jeong had to support her on both sides to prevent her from falling”.
Through the natural perspective, the character's personality is also clearly portrayed.Young Dal is a rather delicate and sensitive person, “looking at the falling snow, all worries seem to disappear…”, while Jeong is a rather practical person with a lot of life experience: “Hey, those snowflakes are so beautiful, next year will probably be a good harvest”, “At first, the mood is good, but if it keeps snowing like this, our travel will not be easy at all”.
On the way, they came to a fork in the road where the sign was rusty and faded. Sometimes in life, we also stand at forks in the road and have to choose the right direction for ourselves. With the help of an elder, the two chose and determined to go on that path, and strangely enough, they met Baek Hwa. The writer skillfully interwoven his artistic intentions when using the outside world to express that.
I especially like the philosophical sentences in the work, creating deep highlights for the story, it is like the author's contemplation on life, evoking many thoughts for the reader:
- "The road without a companion is far away."
- "Because I'm old, I want to go back to my hometown."
- "Because even if I have to starve, if I have money, I will still feel more secure."
- "People, if not together for long, it's easy to forget each other, naturally."
- “Not only prison, even this life is not a sea of suffering on earth?”
- “How can we know what will happen? When fate comes, we can drop anchor and live.”
- "This is the time when the world was transformed in just one or two years."
- "When people grow in number, they must change. When people grow in number, they will forget the sky."
I read the short story “The Road to Sam Po” with the desire to learn about Korea in the process of industrialization, and through the work, I received quite clear understanding, at the same time found similarities between the societies and people of the two countries in the renovation period. That is the interesting thing that this literary work has helped a person, although not living in the time and space of the past, still feel relatively fully about the previous life in a country he has never set foot in. In other words, this is the magic of the work written by the artistic talent of writer Hwang Sok Young that has brought to readers.
Author:i333
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