WORKMEN

Unusual, most unusual.
A man only had one eye.
It took him a whole thirty minutes
to mould just one set of bricks.
If they didn't satisfy him,
he'd start over
again and again.
When his boss canned him,
he started working on his own.
His bricks sold quite well.

Unusual.
It took a man a whole ten minutes
to lay a single brick.
After he'd finished,
he'd stretch his neck a couple of times
then start laying again.
The foreman fired him,
but he completed a house,
then died --
a dream come true -- --
the house for years having no problems
whatsoever.

It was unusual.
It was so unusual.
A man who hammered nails.
After he'd done,
he hammered again
to stop them from ever getting out.
The hammer had a great time.
It could really show someone love.

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The big query was the penultimate line of the middle stanza: Wish-fulfillment. One word all on its own on a line, followed by a period, amid a narrative: commenting on or saying what? As is, it's pretty enigmatic, perhaps more so than intended? (Ad fontes: what's the original?)

From the top -- I made minor polishings to the storyteller's voice , the narrative style.

First stanza, the guy is kicked out by a boss -- second stanza fired by a foreman; what's up with that, do you (or Prof. Kim) think? What's the original, exactly -- different words, or synonyms?

And is it the same guy in each of the three stanzas? He's referred to as THAT man in stanza 2 and three, as if he were: is that also in the original? Or is it "A" man -- or nondefined? I think it's three separate people ... one who makes bricks, one who lays 'em, one who hammers (carpenter?).

If my understanding is correct, the title wouldn't tell us 'cos it cold be A WORKMAN or WORKMEN, either way.

Last note: what's the original of the last line? "Show love" might be not the only option, ditto "really"?

-- Anonymous, May 23, 2000

Answers

Questions? Comments?

The Web is open (24x7).

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-- Anonymous, May 25, 2000

The big query was the penultimate line of the middle stanza: Wish-fulfillment. One word all on its own on a line, followed by a period, amid a narrative: commenting on or saying what? As is, it's pretty enigmatic, perhaps more so than intended? (Ad fontes: what's the original?) KOREAN FATALISM TENDS TO EXPECT PATTERNS OF GOOD OR BAD LUCK IN FAMILY STORIES. THIS MAN (SEE BELOW) HAS HAD A RUN OF BAD LUCK, THEN FOR YEARS ALL WENT WELL WHICH CAUSED ANXIETY BECAUSE THE PATTERN WAS BAD FORTUNE. AT LAST, HE DROPPED DEAD, FINALLY FULFILLING THEIR EXPECTATION

.

First stanza, the guy is kicked out by a boss -- second stanza fired by a foreman; what's up with that, do you (or Prof. Kim) think? What's the original, exactly -- different words, or synonyms? And is it the same guy in each of the three stanzas? He's referred to as THAT man in stanza 2 and three, as if he were: is that also in the original? Or is it "A" man -- or nondefined? I think it's three separate people ... one who makes bricks, one who lays 'em, one who hammers (carpenter?).If my understanding is correct, the title wouldn't tell us 'cos it cold be A WORKMAN or WORKMEN, either way.

THE TITLE IS SPECIFICALLY 'ONU NODONGJA' WHICH MEANS 'A CERTAIN WORKER' (THE SAME WORD AS FOR FACTORY WORKER) AND 'THAT MAN' REPRESENTS 'KUNUN' WHICH MEANS 'THAT (SAME) MAN'. IN KOREA PEOPLE ARE NOT VERY SPECIALIZED. GET SACKED FROM ONE KIND OF JOB AND YOU GET YOUR NEXT JOB WHEREVER YOU CAN, DOING WHATEVER... SO CLEARLY THE POEM TELLS THE STORY OF ONE MAN WHO LOST HIS JOB MORE THAN ONCE.

Last note: what's the original of the last line? "Show love" might be not the only option, ditto "really"? THE KOREAN SIMPLY SAYS "COULD LOVE SOMEONE REALLY SINCERELY PROPERLY" (NO 'SHOW').

-- Anonymous, June 09, 2000

1. title. As my this am's posted comment says, the original specifies 'a certain' ie 'one' but is "worker" better than "workman" or should it be "laborer"? 2. If it's always the same fellow, is "that man" ok? 3. "canned" is not used in my part of the cosmos. Is it standard in yours? In my parts, "to get canned" is to get drunk... If you say it's ok, ok. 4. If my explanation of "wish-fulfillment" and its related phrases is accepted, would you think the following is possible? After the foreman fired him he completed a house, then died -- wish-fulfillment, the family having had no problem for years.

The source of that last line's trouble is that 'house' can mean 'family' in Korean as in English (Britain's Sovereign Lady is of the House of Windsor) but I'm pretty sure (with Korean you can NEVER be QUITE sure) that here this is what it means. 5. At the start of the last stanza, the Korean repeats exactly the same words. Should we? Should we not? You say NOT. ok. 5. The last line as I suggested this morning: It could really love someone. ok? improvements?

-- Anonymous, June 09, 2000