[Afternoon Poem] Donamtang / Lee Si-young

At dusk, Nam Dae-hyun from the North and Kim Hoon from the South met in the courtyard of the Samjiyeon Ryogwan at the foot of Baekdu Mountain. Even when I interrupted and told them they were probably classmates from Donam Elementary School, they were initially awkward with each other. But then, Kim Hoon, who had been quietly folding his arms, suddenly asked Nam Dae-hyun as if he had just remembered, “Do you know Donamtang near Jeongneungcheon?” to which Nam Dae-hyun responded with delight, “The red chimney that was the tallest in that neighborhood?” That night, the two drank all the Deuljjuk liquor in the Samjiyeon store, greatly disappointing Nam’s heavy drinker Lee Moon-jae. Moreover, the next dawn, Kim Hoon, wearing only a short-sleeved shirt and shorts without any preparation, climbed Cheonji and had to shiver in the biting cold, wrapping his entire body with a car seat.

■ Kim Hoon and Nam Dae-hyun are famous novelists from South Korea and North Korea, respectively. Having lived separately for decades in places with completely different political and economic systems and ideologies, the two must have felt quite awkward and unfamiliar with each other. However, when they recalled 'Donamtang,' they instantly became close friends. Perhaps the two even encountered each other naked at 'Donamtang,' the "red chimney that was the tallest in the neighborhood," during their schoolboy days. Although the poem is simple and relatively short, its story and depth of affection warmly and pleasantly traverse the modern history of North and South Korea. The Lunar New Year is approaching. I wonder if that bathhouse still remains in our hometown, and if my comrades have safely passed through the past year. Such thoughts already make me excited and nostalgic. ? Poet Chae Sang-woo

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.