Martoons

Today: Fred gets to know Mrs Won and her daughter.

Cast of characters

Fred

Mrs Won

Hot Sauce Kim – Mrs Won’s daughter

*

Scene: At Fred’s homestay apartment.

Mrs Won called someone’s name.

A bedroom door opened and the yelping sound of the dog suddenly blasted out again.

A slightly pudgy teenage girl in a gym suit and stylish, smart glasses carefully exited the room such that the dog couldn’t get out.

In the intervening few seconds though, it did manage to stick its hairy face out the crack and growl at the front door.

“Be quiet Ouija!” Mrs Won scolded. “Mr Go is gone.”

Fred chuckled. “Oh, so it’s your dog!”

* Does the dog’s owner even like the dog? *

“She is just a dumb little dog,” the girl said. “I don’t like her – too noisy. Always barking. Most Koreans don’t like dogs as pets, especially in apartments.”

The teenager nudged the hairy little head back into the room and clicked the door shut.

She then came over and stood beside Mrs Won.

She was about the same height as her mother, but a tad chunkier.

“If you don’t like dogs, why do you have one?” Fred asked.

Mrs Won interceded. “Ouija keeps my daughter company in her room. She has to stay there a lot to study.”

“She is not allowed to meet friends, only on Sunday afternoon. So I got her the little dog to be like a roommate.”

“Just wondering,” Fred asked the girl, “why don’t you like dogs?”

She waved him off. “I actually like dogs – they are very tasty!”

Fred chuckled. “I heard that – that Koreans eat dog.”

Won was quick to wave him off. “That was a long time ago. Only in the countryside.”

Fred nodded while sensing her defensiveness. “It wouldn’t bother me. Meat’s meat.

Really, what’s the difference between chowing down on a canine or a cow? Or a pig? It’s just a cultural thing.”

* Does Hot Sauce have a well-rounded lifestyle? *

Won said something snappy to the girl, who straightened up and spoke: “My name is Hot Sauce Kim. Nice to meet you.” She bowed but her mother nudged her again.

“Oh…” she gasped, and then held her hand out for a handshake and Fred reciprocated.

“Hot Sauce is not her real name,” Mrs Won said. “It’s her nickname. Maybe her real name is very difficult for you to pronounce.”

“Hot Sauce it is, then. Now, I’m thinking you like your food super spicy?”

“Of course,” the girl said. “We Koreans like spicy foods.”

The muffled yelping of the dog was audible and Hot Sauce grinned. “Mom, actually I am very hungry right now. Can you prepare me some dog stew?”

Won playfully slapped her and Fred went along with the corny joke by snickering. “By the way Mrs Won, it’s getting pretty late. Where’s your husband – Mr Won?”

Mrs Won and Hot Sauce smiled with a dual wave-off.

* Are Korean wives equal to their husbands? *

“He is not Mr Won,” Hot Sauce said, “He is Mr Kim.”

Won explained: “A woman here keeps her family name after marriage and moves away to her husband’s town. That means she loses all her friends.

“She becomes very busy and often has to quit her job to serve her husband. All she gets to keep from her previous life is her name.”

What century is this? Fred wondered.

“I like that idea,” he said, “I mean, about keeping your name. A person’s name is like their … essence. Anyway, will I meet your husband this evening?”

“Mr Kim never comes home for dinner and stays out late. He goes out with his office friends after work. Hot Sauce and I rarely see him. It’s Korean style.”

“Sometimes we all go for a drive on Sundays. That’s about it.”

“May I ask what his job is?”

“He is a reporter at a big TV station. Lately he has a lot of stress. There is a new President at his company and they don’t get along.”

Hot Sauce suppressed a yawn and her mother nudged her.

She bowed and hastily disappeared back into her room where the little dog was exiled.

“Hot Sauce must study,” Mrs Won said. “My family wants her to eventually get into the Chinju science high school and become an engineer.”

Suddenly Fred could hear the very clear and pronounced sound of a knife hastily chopping something on a cutting board. In his fatigued state, the sound startled him.

*

Tomorrow: Fred commits a cultural faux pas.