Waiting for Mama
Written by: Lee Tae-Jun
Illustrated by: Kim Dong-Seong
Summary: An unaccompanied child waits patiently for Mama to arrive at the streetcar station. It grows colder and colder outside and with each passing streetcar she does not seem to appear. The child is told to stand safely in the waiting area for Mama so as not to get hurt. As it begins to snow, readers wonder if Mama will ever arrive. With very little text, this story was originally published in a Korean newspaper in 1938. Kim Dong-Seong added illustrations in 2004 that add emotion and meaning to the text according to his interpretation.
Review: The story of this book is very simplistic and poetic, although short. Combined with the elaborate and intricate illustrations on each page, the book is absolutely beautiful. Kim Dong-Seong worked hard to recreate what Korean culture looked like in 1938. He does so very authentically, staying true to the ambiguous nature of the text, although not obviously so.
This book is the only book I have included that was originally written in another language and later translated into English. It is a very interesting read in English as it is easily read through a lens of Western values. I will admit that upon my first few reads of this book I thought it was very sad and did not like it as a children's book. The idea of a child waiting alone at a heavily populated streetcar station for a mother that never comes seemed very wrong to me. After reading the jacket of the book, I found an indication that on the last page you can find the little child and his mother walking hand in hand. As I looked carefully, I found the pair I had not noticed before. What is fascinating, however, is that this information is not included on the jacket or within the text of any other translation of the book - only English. In addition, the only indication that the child and mother end up together in the end is from the illustrations which were added in 2004, 66 years later. These two things reveal a lot about Western culture's obvious discomfort with Korean values.
However, an additional twist to the book is mentioned by the illustrator himself in an interview: "So the real world was done in monotone, and the imaginary world had color, so that the reunion with the mother could be imaginary or chronologically real. I left it to the readers to decide." With this knowledge, the illustrations only add to the ambiguous ending of the story.
Although the text for this story is very simplistic, I think it would be a great way to discuss possible outcomes of a story, and especially using illustrations to find key details of a text. I also think that slightly older students could use this text to talk about the cultural aspects previously discussed. It would be a great launch into a bigger discussion on how Western culture imposes itself in other ways.
Review: The story of this book is very simplistic and poetic, although short. Combined with the elaborate and intricate illustrations on each page, the book is absolutely beautiful. Kim Dong-Seong worked hard to recreate what Korean culture looked like in 1938. He does so very authentically, staying true to the ambiguous nature of the text, although not obviously so.
This book is the only book I have included that was originally written in another language and later translated into English. It is a very interesting read in English as it is easily read through a lens of Western values. I will admit that upon my first few reads of this book I thought it was very sad and did not like it as a children's book. The idea of a child waiting alone at a heavily populated streetcar station for a mother that never comes seemed very wrong to me. After reading the jacket of the book, I found an indication that on the last page you can find the little child and his mother walking hand in hand. As I looked carefully, I found the pair I had not noticed before. What is fascinating, however, is that this information is not included on the jacket or within the text of any other translation of the book - only English. In addition, the only indication that the child and mother end up together in the end is from the illustrations which were added in 2004, 66 years later. These two things reveal a lot about Western culture's obvious discomfort with Korean values.
However, an additional twist to the book is mentioned by the illustrator himself in an interview: "So the real world was done in monotone, and the imaginary world had color, so that the reunion with the mother could be imaginary or chronologically real. I left it to the readers to decide." With this knowledge, the illustrations only add to the ambiguous ending of the story.
Although the text for this story is very simplistic, I think it would be a great way to discuss possible outcomes of a story, and especially using illustrations to find key details of a text. I also think that slightly older students could use this text to talk about the cultural aspects previously discussed. It would be a great launch into a bigger discussion on how Western culture imposes itself in other ways.
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