Publishing the series 'Korean Short Stories with Question Marks'
preface


Reading the work "Lucky Day" _ Hyun Jin-geon

"Lucky Day": A Deep Reading, Questioning, and Answering

1.
A look at Seoul in the 1920s
What is a rickshaw?
Did the parasite and the schoolgirl look similar?
What kind of place is a tavern?
How much is 1 won worth now?
Is Gaedongi your name?
Why was Kim Cheomji so poor?

2.
Reading Kim Cheomji's Mind
Why is it called 'the money to pay for the enemy' and 'the money to pay for the six o'clock'?
What emotions are expressed on Kim Cheomji's face?
Did Kim Cheomji love his wife?
What kind of person is Kim Cheomji's wife?
How did Kim Cheomji's mind change during the day?

3.
Finding hidden meaning in the work
What does Kim Cheomji mean by his curse?
What do the 'smells' and 'sounds' inside the room serve?
Why is the title 'Lucky Day'?
What is the hidden meaning behind the rain that falls all day?
What is the narrator's attitude?

Reading broadly: A look into the world beyond the work

Author's Story - A Chronology of Hyun Jin-geon's Life and Works, and a Virtual Interview
A Tale of the Times - 1920-1924
A Novel about the Life of a Rickshaw Puller
Rereading - What if Kim Cheom-ji's family lived today?
Reader's Stories - Vertex Book Reviews

References

Dreaming of a literature class overflowing with wild imaginations and lively questions!

The National Korean Language Teachers Association pondered how to make literature classes exciting and fun.
And finally, I came up with the idea of ​​'finding with a question mark'.
This is a different approach to literature classes than the one we have been using so far, where we provide students with uniform, mechanical information about the work, but rather provide answers to the questions students actually have after reading the work.
Through this, we aimed to establish a foundation for a user-centered literature class that allows students to understand and empathize with the work, rather than a one-sided literature class that was consistently focused on fragmentary understanding and forced memorization.
"Korean Short Stories with Question Marks" can be considered a guide to help this type of literature class take root in schools.


"Korean Short Stories with Question Marks" is a selection of short stories from middle and high school Korean language and literature textbooks that have been widely read for a long time.
After having students read the selected works, I collected all the questions they had.
Among them, we selected those that were frequently asked, meaningful, novel, and original, and created a list of questions in a certain way.
Then, current Korean language teachers answered the questions based on what they had studied by searching through numerous books and papers.
It was written in simple language so that children can easily read it, and illustrations, photos, and reference materials were placed appropriately.
Through this process, I tried to approach the more universal meaning of the work.
The "Question Marks Guide to Korean Short Stories" series is a new, unprecedented content offering reading materials and information that can elicit diverse and profound thoughts.
I believe that this will not only open up the horizon of 'student-centered novel appreciation' but also provide an opportunity for students to become more intimate with literary works.


Discover Korea's representative short stories from textbooks in a single, comprehensive volume!

This book is the first in the series “Korean Short Stories with Question Marks” planned by the National Association of Korean Language Teachers.
"Korean Short Stories with Question Marks" was born from the sorrow of the educational reality where children are increasingly moving away from literature due to rote memorization and problem-solving style literature classes.
And it is being created with the will and passion of teachers from the National Association of Korean Language Teachers who want to make literary works come alive and breathe close to children.


As the series title suggests, this book goes far beyond the fragmentary interpretation and understanding of novels found in conventional textbooks or reference books.
Because it covers historical, cultural, social, historical, and literary information in an easy and engaging way, based on questions students actually ask when reading the work, it will be a great help in fully understanding a single work.


This book is structured as 'Reading Novels - Reading Deeply - Reading Broadly'.

'Deep Reading' is filled with meaningful questions that children have while reading the work, selected by the teacher, and the teacher's answers to them.
It focuses on the background, characters, events, and themes related to the work itself, and allows readers to internalize the work in various ways while reading.

'Reading Broadly' aims to broaden the understanding of a work by examining the elements surrounding the work, such as the author and the circumstances of the time.
Additionally, the results of students' reading and activities on the work were included, allowing students to get a glimpse into their peers' thoughts on the work.
And by introducing other works with similar materials or themes through ‘linked reading,’ we were able to broaden the reading experience and the scope of literary appreciation.


Take a peek into the secrets of "Lucky Day"!

The Japanese colonial period is the period that holds the greatest significance in our country's modern history.
And many literary works that came out during this period also occupy a large portion of our literary world.
In this context, I wanted to make a short story set during the Japanese colonial period the first book in the series.
And when it is said that literature reflects reality, I was looking for a work that could most realistically show the appearance of that time, and that is how I came across Hyun Jin-geon's "A Lucky Day."

Through this novel, I hope to delve into the tragic lives of the lower classes, who struggled to survive each day under the circumstances of Japanese colonial rule, and to realize that such circumstances and the lives of individuals are not unrelated to our lives today.
"A Lucky Day" is a representative novel of the 1920s and is included in middle school Korean language textbooks and high school literature textbooks.
So, it is a novel that is familiar to students.
However, there are few people who fully understand the novel "Lucky Day."
What would Seoul have looked like 80 years ago? What would the inside of the tavern where Kim Cheomji drank have been like? What would the rickshaw he pulled have looked like? How different were the trams of that time from today's subways? In the 1920s, when the country was taken over by Japan and everyone was living a difficult life, were it common to see female students wearing high heels and capes?

As you read this book, you will learn many things you didn't know about "Lucky Days."
You will discover that the glamour and misery of the 1920s are contained in words that are easily passed over, and that Kim Cheomji's seemingly careless swear words contain his sadness and love.
So, after reading this book, you will be able to remember "Lucky Day" with a richer meaning in your heart.