Kim Yong Ik, "Gourd Dance Song"

Even cruel village men and lusting village boys are rooting for the local songbird.

(Short Story International, #59)

"Look at me with a skyward gourd on my back.
Look at me with a good luck on my back."

Well, they're rooting for her to a degree. They want to possess her, her body (a little) and her voice (a lot). Now, to my eyes, they're a little too into their amorphous Gourd Dance tradition. So much so that they would limit Lotus's potential and clip her dreams just to have her around to sing the song they're really digging. Also, most of the people in this charming, near-parable talk in that awkward, grandiose style I've come to expect in translated texts, like: "Did you stumble again? Were you watching the far mountain." This is not terribly distracting, however. The distance in time, place and mindset is already apparent. If they talked like me I'd call shenanigans.

This story was published December, 1986. Of course it's not on the web. I wonder what became of the Korean-born Kim Yong Ik.