The Leper by Seo Jung-ju
#1 The sunlight from the sky
filled the leper with sorrows.
He gobbled up a baby
when the moon rose over the barley field.*
All night he cried scarlet cries like flowers.#2 Saddened by the sun
and blue of the sky
the leper ate a child
at moonrise by the barley fields
and through the night cried out
his sorrow red as a flower.
문둥이/서정주
해와 하늘 빛이
문둥이는 서러워
보리밭에 달 뜨면
애기 하나 먹고
꽃처럼 붉은 우름을 밤새 우렀다
출전: “시인부락”(1936)
* There once was a myth in Korea: if lepers ate a baby’s liver, they would be cured.
For me it is the best drama of 2018 year (even if it is not finished yet, while i am writing the note about it).
The episode #12 was so clear to understand and it was the truth words inside: ‘Parents, siblings, friends and colleagues…relationship that has been cemented never changes. Even if you want out, even if you want to think differently, it’s impossible.’
Even if you will never meet these people, speak with them and be very far from them – it is with you for all of your life till the end.
You or me, everyone has such an experience once and still remember or feel it inside the heart and in the brain, sure in the moment when we are sick and weak. It is like the pain in deep. Time passes and we are able to forget the details but never the feelings of offense, disappointment, betrayal and more other we experienced for years. It will never disappear, you know.
This whole story is not about children at all, it is about us, adults who were children. Even if your family was amazing and good and happy there is always someone from your memory who abused* you in some way.A
Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of an entity, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit.[ Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other types of aggression. To these descriptions, one can also add the Kantian notion of the wrongness of using another human being as means to an end rather than as ends in themselves. Some sources describe abuse as “socially constructed”, which means there may be more or less recognition of the suffering of a victim at different times and societies.
Wikipedia
But the society thinks if you are an adult you can’t be depressed or feel bad about the past, you always need to be strong. They say that it is normal to forget and hide the memory behind… It couldn’t be accepted – instead it will become a problem of the whole society and not only the person itself. Even if you grew up more stronger and happy, the pain from the past (doesn’t matter that it was) will be always with you till the end – in your subconscious, memory, dreams and nightmares. And more awful if it is inside of you and you are not able to say a word to somebody and there is no one who could help or save you from your mind.
It is really an amazing drama! And I love it so much because of the voice with which they tell us the important story about the humans.
I hope you have a good person near of you who understand and could listen your fears and help you to go ahead and you are both able to deal with all the memories and the past together.
I’m happy I have a husband who is smart enough to tell me everything and I am also such a person for him too. He understand and accept it how it is hard for an adult to be strong. It made us more open minded people who see inside the others both sides – bad and good. And it is the real truth – that will be never disappeared and it is always in our nightmares…our past.
It is very touchable drama. I would recommend it for every family to watch.
And for every person who thinks it is easy just to think “Oh, yeah, we just want to have children…” – if you say that, that means you never wanted them for real, and just follow the rules of society who needs you to have them. Think twice before to make a choice.
“We’re both looking at the same moon, in the same world. We’re connected to reality by the same line. ” ― Haruki Murakami