Short stories
The Dwarf
난장이가 쏘아 올린 작은 공
Cho Se-hui · 1978
Synopsis
In Seoul, in the seventies, the family of a dwarf lives in an unregistered dwelling in the Haengbok-dong district, whose name means happiness. The mother works too; the children are called Yeong-su, Yeong-ho and Yeong-hui. The district is slated for redevelopment, and the family is driven out of it. Twelve linked stories, with changing narrators and periods, cross its fate with that of a family of the rising middle class and of a wealthy industrialist, according to the University of Hawai'i Press.
Context
The twelve stories appeared from 1975 to 1978 in various magazines, from the first, devoted to a Möbius strip, to an epilogue, and were collected in June 1978 by Munhak-gwa Jiseong; the title story had appeared in the winter of 1976. The book received the thirteenth Dong-in Prize in 1979. It mixes realism with a fantastic construction, with symbols drawn from the sciences, a dry prose and rapidly shifting points of view. The Segye Ilbo says it had sold 1.48 million copies by 2022.
Who it is for
A cycle of twelve linked stories, with a fragmented structure; translated into French in 1995 and into English in 2006.
Prizes and reception
Also translated into German, Bulgarian and Japanese, according to its American publisher; adapted for the screen as early as 1980.