Sandy Tower, Kun Uhng, Park

Sandy Tower

Kun Uhng, Park

 

 

At a lonely island

white sandy plain,

tide is rising and wet sand

a girl, for herself, pile up

sandy tower.

 

 

She feels lonely

either seeing a blue sky

or a farther horizon;

she heard none from a boy

withwhom have piled up sandy tower.

 

 

Steamship which rided him to the land

also sound a whistle today

and put down people at dock,

but she can't find out awaiting boy.

 

 

Weeping of wave and wind

make her more lonely,

unmade sandy tower breakes loose,

the girl looking forth her ocean

seizing handful of sand.

 

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meaning

 

Sand Castle is a poem by Park Gun-woong that sings of the sadness and longing of separation.

 

 

 

The speaker of the poem is building a sand castle alone on the sandy beach of a secluded island. She misses the boy she used to build sandcastles with.

 

The boy decided one day to leave the island and go to the mainland. The speaker is waiting for the boy to return, but the boy does not return.

 

In the last part of the poem, the speaker thinks about the boy as he watches the sand castle collapse in the waves. She cannot forget the boy and will miss him forever.

 

 

 

The background of this poem is a time when Korea's industrialization and urbanization were progressing rapidly, and many people left their hometowns and headed to the cities. Sand Castle can be seen as a work of art that reflects the circumstances of this era. The boy can be said to symbolize people heading to the city. The speaker can be said to symbolize the people who let the boy go.

 

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story

 

Once upon a time, a girl and a boy lived on a secluded island. They had a happy time building sand castles together.

 

Then one day, the boy decided to leave the island and go to the mainland. The girl was saddened by the boy's departure, but she respected his wishes.

 

 

 

After the boy left, the girl missed her boy by building sand castles alone. She waited every day for the boy to return, but he did not return.

 

One day, the girl saw the boy's boat on its way to land arrive at her dock. She was happy that the boy had returned.

 

 

 

But the boy did not get off the boat. He headed to the city with the others.

 

The girl realized that she would never see the boy again. She looked at the sand castle in sadness.

 

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question

 

Student: What does the phrase “the girl builds the sand castle by herself” mean in Sand Castle?

 

Professor: That phrase expresses the girl's loneliness and desolation after losing her boy. After the boy leaves, the girl builds a sand castle by herself and misses the boy.

 

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Student: “What is the theme of the poem?”

 

Professor: “This poem tells a story about solitude and waiting through a girl building a sandcastle alone on a quiet and lonely island.”