Global InformationOne Lucky Day information
| Author | Hyun Jin-geon |
|---|---|
| Language | Korean |
| Genre | realistic fiction |
One Lucky Day (Korean: 운수 좋은 날) is a 1924 realistic novel written by Hyun Jin-geon, first published by Gaebyeok. One rainy day, "good luck" comes to the old rickshaw-porter Kim, who has not seen money for ten days because of bad luck. He is able to get two customers and earn 80 jeon in the morning alone. While going back home, he is glad that he could buy the seolleongtang that his severely ill wife wanted so much. More good luck strikes when he finds a student who pays 1 won and 50 jeon for a ride.
As he is pulling the rickshaw in high spirits because of his good luck, he remembers that his wife had said, "Please do not go out today," and his mood is dampened. Nevertheless, after making another round of negotiations with his customers and earning money, he visits a roadside bar to celebrate his unexpected earnings.
As he gets drunk in the lively atmosphere of a warm bar, old Kim tries not to have ominous thoughts about his wife, throwing away the "resentful money" and crying and laughing like crazy.
At last, when a heavily drunk old Kim returns home after buying the seolleongtang for his wife, he finds her already dead; his baby, who was sucking the mother's nipple, was waiting for him. Old Kim's seemingly fortunate day ends with him crying alone.[1]
- ^ "민족문화대백과사전". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Retrieved 2017-11-30.