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

Reading [The Bicycle Thief] _ Park Wan-seo

[The Bicycle Thief]: A Deep Reading, Questioning, and Answering

1_ Scenery in a novel
What kind of place is Seun Shopping Mall?
Why doesn't Sunam go to school?
What is night school?
Why does the wind keep blowing?

2_ Between fear and pleasure
Should the wire wholesaler pay for the young lady's medical expenses?
Why did the gentleman lock his bicycle?
Why did Sunam run away with his bike?
What kind of person is the owner?
Was what Sunam did theft?

3_ Growth through enlightenment
What does 'yellow poop color' mean?
Why does Sunam miss his father?
Why did Sunam's older brother come back empty-handed?
Why is Sunam packing his bags?
What kind of life will Sunam lead in the future?


Reading broadly: A look into the world beyond the work

Author Story? A chronology of Park Wan-seo's life and works, and more about the author.
A story of the times? The 1970s
Interwoven Reading? Industrialization, Materialism, and the True Value of Life
Reader's Note? Writing the Backstory for "Bicycle Thieves"

References

A guide to appreciating representative Korean short stories, planned and written by the National Association of Korean Language Teachers.
The 'Question Marks Guide to Korean Short Stories' series


1.
I dream of a literature class overflowing with wild imaginations and lively questions!

The National Korean Language Teachers Association has been thinking about how to make literature classes more exciting and fun.
And finally, I came up with the idea of ​​'finding with a question mark'.
This is not a literature class that has been conducted so far, that is, a class that provides students with uniform and mechanical information about the work, but a method that provides answers to the questions that 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.
The series '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' selected short stories that have been widely read by many people for a long time among those included in Korean language and literature textbooks for middle and high schools.
After reading these selected works directly to the students, 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 set manner.
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 for students to read, and illustrations, photos, and reference materials were placed appropriately.
In this way, I tried to approach the more universal meaning of the work.
'Question Marks for Korean Short Stories' is a new, unprecedented content that provides reading materials and information that can elicit diverse and profound thoughts.
It will not only open up the horizon of 'student-centered novel appreciation' but also provide students with an opportunity to become closer to literary works.


2.
Discover Korea's representative short stories from textbooks in a single, deep and broad volume!

'Finding Korean Short Stories with Question Marks' was born from the sorrow of the educational reality in which children are increasingly moving away from literature due to memorization-based and problem-solving-based literature classes.
And it is being created with the will and passion of teachers who want to make literary works come alive and breathe close to children.

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

This book is structured as 'reading the work - reading deeply - reading broadly'.
'Reading the Work' is based on the original publication of the work, allowing readers to read the full text of the novel with vivid illustrations.

'Deep Reading' is filled with meaningful questions that children ask after reading the work, and teachers' answers to these questions.
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.



3.
[The Bicycle Thief] - A critique and reflection on a society that pursues material values.

《(Reading with a Teacher) Bicycle Thief》 is the twelfth book in the series 'Korean Short Stories with Question Marks', planned and written by the National Association of Korean Language Teachers.

Park Wan-seo's [The Bicycle Thief] is set in Seun Shopping Mall in the early 1970s, a time when our society was rapidly shifting toward industrialization based on economic development plans. Through Sunam, who came to Seoul from the countryside, it shows a cross-section of an era that values ​​material values ​​over traditional values.

Sixteen-year-old Gal Sunam, who came to Seoul to earn money, got a decent job, and worked hard to make a living, unexpectedly becomes a 'bicycle thief', and experiences a strange mental and conscientious conflict.
And seeing the attitude of the 'gentleman' who is rich enough to drive a car and the 'old man' who says good thing to Sunam who ran away with the bicycle, I am disappointed in the selfish adults who only value material things.
Then, realizing that there is no adult who can correct him, he decides to return to his hometown where such a being (his father) exists.

As you read through the various questions and answers contained in this book, you will naturally come to understand the characters in [The Bicycle Thief], discover the hidden meaning behind the events, learn about the times, and ultimately, guess what the author is trying to say.