(written in 2007)
I
couldn't but admire the lifestyle of Kwon Jeong-saeng when I heard his will.
Being a well-known children's literature writer, he wrote so many tales;
however, he was never luxurious. He lived a simple life much more than that of
priests or sisters.
He passed away on May 17, 2007. He was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1937 and became a writer after a fairy tale he wrote was selected for a spring literary contest in a Korean daily, Choson Ilbo.
From 1967, he lived in a very small cottage in a village in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province. Since 1969, he wrote about 100 fairy tales such as "The Tears of God," "My Sister Mongsil," and "The Moon in an Apple Orchard." His other works include "Puppy Dung," "An Uncle Who Strikes a Bell at an Acorn Church," "Our God," "A Village Once with a Straw-roofed House," and "Bapdegi Jukdegi."
Among them, "My Sister Mongsil" and "Puppy Dung" sold over 600,000 copies, but he constantly lived in the same cottage in the rural area.
He suffered from the disease for a long time and made a will leaving all his royalties to charity organizations. He believed that the royalties were given as thanks by children and that they should be returned to children. Not only children in North Korea but those in Asia and Africa will benefit from his generosity.
In his will, he wanted to get rid of his cottage and make it a part of nature without celebrating his works or life. He also wanted his body to be cremated and spread on the mountain at the back of his home. In this way, he totally avoided materialism and regarded "nonpossession" as the greatest merit of life.
"Bapdegi Jukdegi," one of his fairy tales, was published by Pauline long ago and was also translated into Japanese. It is a collection of 15 fairy tales that were serialized in the monthly biblical magazine, Jacob's Well.
It tells us interesting and touching stories about two little boys named Bapdegi and Jukdegi, who live in the deep valley. In fact, they are egg ghosts whom a wolf grandma took out of a dung tub.
Various stories that grandma told us are, in fact, our stories of long history suffered from the tragic division for over 50 years. Through these fairy tales, wolf grandma, Bapdegi, and Jukdegi show ways to recover the contradictions of life and to heal the selfish hearts of people.
The grandma also symbolizes the image of our grandmothers who are willing to sacrifice themselves as they constantly pray for their children, family, and country with all their hearts. It's touching to see our grandmothers cherish the value of life and sacrifice themselves for the poor.
Each story is easy and interesting to read to the end with clear messages to learn and ponder.
"Bapdegi Jukdegi" starts as follows:
When you walk very deeply into the valley of Solmoegol to reach a blind end where no one can go any further, a shanty is standing there. In the shanty, lives a very old granny. The valley is about two and a half miles far away from the town of Solmoegol; there the granny lives by herself as if she might not feel loneliness and fear."
She seems really a courageous granny, doesn't she? During the year, except once or twice when she ventures further, she lives alone weeding a dry field, cooking rice, washing clothes, and humming to herself. Since she does not go out so often, even the townspeople living two and a half miles far from the valley do not know who is living there.
"Well, the granny is not a real human, but a wolf or a ghost."
One day without knowing, I went to pick a pile of firewood and saw the granny. She was just like a vixen.
"That’s right! She is surely not a human, but a fox ghost."
The townspeople often talk about the granny as gossip or out of fear, but then they used to forget about her immediately.
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2007/07/137_6073.html
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