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The story I’m about to tell you is about an errand boy working at a udon restaurant. 

Is his name Bok-dong, you ask? No, his name is Noma.

Noma is fifteen years old. How tall is he? Well, he’s on the short side for a fifteen-year-old. 

He has no parents and no home.

노마가 모자 가게에서 10전, 약국집에서 5전,

도합 15전을 받아오니까

주인은 그 중에서 5전을 도로 노마를 주며 ‘마코’를 한 갑 사오라고 합니다.

Noma brought back 15 jeon, ten from the hatmaker and five from the pharmacy. His boss gave Noma five jeon and told him to buy a pack of cigarettes. 

노마는, 담배도 먹지도 못하고 초연하게 앉아서

자기가 돌아오면 외상값이나 받아 오랄 작정으로 있었을 주인의 정경을 생각하니

제 월급을 두 달치나 안 준 주인이건만

가엾은 생각을 금할 수 없었습니다.

Although the restaurant owner hadn’t paid him for two months, Noma couldn’t help feeling sorry for his boss, who would have waited all alone, without even a cigarette, for the boy to come back so that he could collect unpaid tabs. 

# Interview with SNU Korean literature professor Bang Min-ho

This story is set during the Japanese colonial period, but the subject matter is very contemporary - A noodle shop that goes out of business because of a bigger competitor that opened nearby. We see such instances all the time in today’s world. When a franchise coffee shop opens in a neighborhood, it pushes out many smaller cafes out of business. The same goes for large shopping malls or supermarket chains. This is an adolescent story but an unusual one at that for showing how the real world works. 

그 주인은 이제 이 장사를 그만 두려는 것이었습니다.

노마를 보자 월급을 이제까지 주지 못한 것이며

추운데 손등이 온통 터진 것이며...

그러한 것이 생각되어 노마가 퍽이나 가여웠으므로

마지막으로 그렇게 우동을 만들어 먹인 것입니다.

His boss made up his mind to close the restaurant. The older man recalled that the boy hadn’t been paid properly and his hands had suffered frostbite from working in the cold. He made udon for the last time out of his pity for the errand boy. 

주인은 어디서 어떻게 변통을 하였는지 

돈 4원을 꺼내 노마 앞에 놓았습니다.

The restaurant owner placed four won in front of the boy.

“노마야, 내가 장사를 그만 둘 때 그만두더라도 

 부모두 없는 어린 네 월급이야 어떻게든 해 주려 하였건만

 그것도 여의하게는 안 되는구나.

 석달 치 9원에서 4원밖에는 못 하겠다.

 외상값 못 받는 것을 모두 쳐보니 18원 된다마는

 몇 달 전에 못 받고 못 받고 한 것들이니

 한 반이라도 걷어 받기는 힘이 들게다.

 모두 네게 맡기는 것이니 받을 수 있는 건 받아서 너나 써라...”

“Noma, I tried to pay you despite poor business, but I can’t even afford to do that now. I owe you nine won for three months’ pay but I can only come up with four won. It would have come to 18 won if I collected all the unpaid tabs, but they haven’t paid for months. I would be lucky to collect even half of them. I will leave it up to you to collect them as much as you can. You can keep whatever you get.” 

밖에는 어느 틈엔가 싸락눈이 내리기 시작합니다.

It began to snow outside all of a sudden.

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Park Tae-won (Born in Seoul, Dec. 7, 1909~Jul. 10, 1986)

Debuted with short story “The Beard” in 1930