Unlocking of Difficulties

1. Usually portable protective case a. Urinate

for a light with transparent
openings b. Pity/pitiful
2. To contract or curl up the body or
part of it
3. To discharge urine c. Shrink
4. To put or keep apart; to become
separated d. Sever
5. Sympathetic sorrow for one
suffering
e. Lantern

Shhh*
by Moon In-soo

I have been to his father‘s funeral. He told me a story: he, who had passed his
sixtieth year, held his father, beyond 90 and helped him urinate. Even though life‘s
important controls had left the old body, his mind was still like a lantern. Afraid that the
old man might feel hopeless, he helped him, half joking and half playing the baby,
saying ―Father, shhh, shhh, all right, all, right, you must feel good. When he held his
father, it was as if he entered deep into the whole body. When he held his father like
that as though giving back to the body, how much might the old man have tried to
shrink himself to make himself smaller and lighter? His urine thread cut off frequently,
but such a long thread that the son again and again tried to tie it down to the earth
pitifully, but the father with difficulty might sever it now. Shhh, Shhh! The universe must
be quiet. *In Korean, this word refers to not only a way to make someone hush, but
also is used as an onomatopoeia to help children urinate.

1. How did you feel before, during, and after reading Shhh?
2. While reading, were you able to think about your own mother or father or even
yourself when all of you would become old? What scenario can you foresee?
3. Despite the challenges of modernity that all Afro – Asians have tried to cope
with for many years, do you consider this contemporary selection a good way of
understanding the psyche (spirit) and the temperament (prevailing or dominant
quality of mind that characterizes someone) of the Koreans?

Tales capture and reflect fundamental cultural values of Korean society and its people, such as the
transformation of potential conflict into opportunity through the use of intelligence and the power of injong (human
feeling). No one misses the importance of children‘s devotion to their parents, even after their death. In addition to the
Confucian emphasis on filial piety, the tale conveys how interlinked one is to past, present and future generations of
family and how bonded one is to family by a sense of duty and shared destiny. The Buddhist notion, adopted by many
Koreans, of equality among all living things is also portrayed in the sibling relationship of the woodcutter and tiger. Now,
that you have read the selection, find another reading partner and by pairs, write what is asked for in the Literary
Elements Advance Organizer. Choose one element and use it as a basis for answering the questions below. Continue the
interactive discussion until you get clarified with the Korean way of using their cultural values in coping with the
challenges of modernity.