Survey of Afro-asian Literature

Nami and the Taffy Man

Presented by: Austine Kley DC. Canceller

 The Contents

Objectives Introduction
01. 03.
What you will learn in The lesson of Nami and
this topic? the Taffy Man

Recall Reflection
02. 04. What do you think you
Recall what you learned
in the topic discussed a have learned in this
while ago. topic?
 Objectives
The student will be able to:

a. Identify the story in the fiction

b. Analyze the story of Nami and the Taffy Man

c. Discuss what you have learned in the story

Recall
 Nami and the Taffy Man
● O Yeong-su's first publications occurred on his first return trip to Korea
(1935-7) during which time his children's poetry was published in the
Chosun Times (Chosun ilbo) and East Asian Times (Donga ilbo). In 1949
he published his first fictional work, Nami and the Taffyman, which
appeared in the New World Magazine.

● This sad story is about requited love that is not fulfilled.

● In 1949, however, when the story was published, despite the colonial-era
literary mandate for modernism and “free love” (not in the western sense),
the average Korean was still an a very Confucian environment, and the
story ends on a note of semi-understood pathos.
 Characters
Nami- Taffy Man
- housemaid of Ch’olsu; treasures the the man who usually gives taffy to the
jade- green rubber shoes a lot. The kids, play jokes and hang out with
woman where taffy man fell in love them. The man who fell inlove for
with. Nami as the moment he saw her.

Ch’olsu
Yuni and Yongi-
a salary man where Nami
works for. Has two daughter of Ch’olsu, a little
daughters named Yuni and stubborn one. Loves the
Yungi. taffy of the taffyman
 Characters
Father of Nami Wife of Ch’olsu
who went to see Nami to bring her with
him in order to get married. Old who failed to convinced Nami’s father
enough to have more white hair than to not let Nami get married at an early
black and had wrinkled skin on his age. Mother of Yuni and Yongi.
longish face.
The Summarization of the Nami and the Taffy Man
1. INTRO
A community of low-income families resides in a village at the top of
mountain slopes. Aside from Ch’olsu who is an impoverished salary
man, most of them are laborers who leave at dawn and return
when the sun already sets. The village is left to the children, who
passes their boredom by looking at the ships that come and goes in
the seas.

But what fascinates the children is the village’s daily visitors – the
local taffy peddler. Although they seldom can afford one, the
children would gather around him to see his taffy – content to look
at the delicacies.
2. RISING ACTION

One night, while Ch’olsu sits to eat his supper, her daughters Yuni and Yongi
complain to him about how they got pinched and spanked by their housemaid Nami.
Surprised, he calls Nami to hear the reason why. Nami then explains how Yuni and
Yongi give Nami's beloved jade-green rubber shoes (that she left to dry) to the Taffy
Man in exchange for a taffy.

The very next day, Nami confronts the taffy man and demanded he give the shoes
back. They had a long banter. While the taffy man is looking at Nami's feet, a bee
appears out of nowhere and landed on Nami's bosom then starts crawling upwars.
The taffy man watches at first but then decided to help Nami by cupping his hand
over the bee (still at Nami’s bosom). Embarrassed, Nami’s ears turned red, while the
taffy man got the palm of his hand stung by the bee.
3. Climax

From that moment on, something has changed in the taffy man's routine.
He would visit the village early, comes back in the afternoon, play extra
time with the kids, and he especially treats Yongi and Yuni and gives them
a taffy which makes the other children envious.

However, Nami's father suddenly appears at Ch'olsu's household and

demanded that it is the time for Nami to be married. Ch’olsu and his wife
tried to change his mind but to no avail.
4. Falling Action

The next day, Nami goes with her father to meet the man her father
wants her to marry. But before they left, the Taffy man appears. Nami
draws ten won notes and hands it to the Taffy man.

After looking forth and back at the note and Nami, he proceeds to wrap
five pieces of taffy in a newspaper, but he doesn’t accept her payment.
Nami and her father departed
5. Resolution

Ch’olsu and his wife saw Nami off at the village center and watched Nami’s
departing form. They saw that Nami wears her jade-green shoes. But what
baffles them is that the shoes looks brand new as if it wasn’t ever worn.
Nami in her new jade-green rubber shoes walks in the barley fields.

She had no idea that the Taffy man was watching her from the top of Urum
Pass. As far as he know, Nami was going to Chajinae Valley to see the
flowers and the old man ahead of her was just someone who happened to
be on the same spot
6. Conflict

Nami’s father wants to marry her into a young bachelor of 20 years

old living with her mother
 Symbolism
The jade-green rubber shoes is what Nami treasures the
most. In a way, it also symbolized the colonial era’s
mandate for modernism and free love in 1949-which is
the year the book is published, however the average
Korean household is still into confusion.
What have you learned in the
story?
 1. What do Nami’s new jade-green
rubber shoes signify? How essential
are they to the denouement?
 Assignment:

Create a character web showing the characters’

relationship in Nami and the Taffy man.
Thank you for listening

Presented by: Austine Kley DC. Canceller