The Rainy Spell

The Rainy Spell, first published in 1978, is still rated as one of the finest short stories to deal with the Korean War experience. Because it was a war in which a homogeneous race slaughtered each other, the Korean War left a wound in the Korean psyche that is still not completely healed after half a century. The momentous encounter between the two grandmothers with sons in the opposing war camps is innocently reported by a child who gets caught up in the grown-ups’ games of hate. The final reconciliation between the women holds out a hope for healing and transcendence.