Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Once Around the Sun
    Once Around the Sun
    Once Around the Sun
    Ebook114 pages1 hour

    Once Around the Sun

    By Melanie Steyn

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Once Around the Sun introduces the Lee family. The novel is divided into four chapters and takes part over the period of one year. Each chapter represents a season, and each season covers the story of one member of the family. They start out as simple tales of ordinary life, but soon unfold into extraordinary accounts of spiritual awakening. 
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSeoul Selection
    Release dateAug 18, 2011
    ISBN9788991913974
    Once Around the Sun

    Related to Once Around the Sun

    Related ebooks

    Family Life For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Profound Comfort Of Kimchi

      Oct 5, 2020

      Several years ago on a drive home with my mom, my physical being and existence came into question when an unsecured jar of tongbaechu kimchi in the back of her 1995 Chevrolet Astro van was jostled loose by an abrupt stop. The gallon-sized glass jar,

      8 min read

    • Article

      Northern Thailand

      Sep 17, 2020

      Capital: Bangkok Population: 70 million Languages: Thai and its northern dialect Găm Méuang. Karen, Lahu, Akha and other ethnic minority languages are also spoken in numerous dialects. English is widely understood in the cities. Time: GMT +7 Inte

      2 min read

    • Article

      Let Go To Let Kids Grow

      Sep 1, 2022

      Let Go To Let Kids Grow
      7 min read

    • Article

      Homestyle Oryoki

      Mar 24, 2020

      Homestyle Oryoki
      4 min read

    • Article

      Meet The Lims! Singapore’s Most Creative Family.

      Sep 1, 2022

      A decade ago, two designer parents embarked on the coolest creative project ever: to create an annual family zine–a FAMzine–with their children. Editor (and mum) Claire Lim chats with us about this journey and the process of documenting and archiving

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Power Of Words

      Jul 14, 2022

      The Power Of Words
      2 min read

    • Article

      Tea Service

      Feb 25, 2021

      Tea Service
      1 min read

    • Article

      Tribal Surfers

      Oct 2, 2019

      Tribal Surfers
      7 min read

    • Article

      Rituals That Are Good For Your Soul

      Mar 3, 2021

      The power of a ritual is in the intention. When we are being intentional with what we are doing we are fully present and conscious, allowing for the experience of joy and beauty. Creating rituals is what brings the magic into daily habits. Without a

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Thing About Egypt

      Dec 5, 2021

      The Thing About Egypt
      3 min read

    • Article

      How To Live A SCANDI LIFESTYLE

      Apr 16, 2020

      How To Live A SCANDI LIFESTYLE
      3 min read

    • Article

      Eat, Read, Travel

      Oct 19, 2021

      Eat, Read, Travel
      3 min read

    • Article

      Parent Stories

      Dec 2, 2021

      Parent Stories
      7 min read

    • Article

      Time-warp For Tea

      Oct 7, 2021

      Time-warp For Tea
      3 min read

    • Article

      Destination Erongo

      May 18, 2020

      Destination Erongo
      9 min read

    • Article

      Barbara J Zitwer

      Apr 6, 2023

      Barbara J Zitwer
      3 min read

    • Article

      A Walk In The Clouds

      Jan 11, 2020

      A Walk In The Clouds
      3 min read

    • Article

      Gyeongsangbuk-do Korea’s Historic Hamlets

      Oct 7, 2021

      South Korea may be among the most modern places on earth, yet it keeps one foot firmly in the past with its traditional villages. Hahoe and Yangdong, situated in Gyeongsangbukdo, are two of the best-preserved historic hamlets, both granted UNESCO Wor

      1 min read

    • Article

      Mark The Spot

      Jul 10, 2023

      Mark The Spot
      6 min read

    • Article

      Cricket League

      Apr 1, 2020

      Linden, age 9 Green Bay, WI Ophidia, the medusa, tried desperately to sketch a self-portrait. Later she would add color. Her problem was every time she looked into the lake at her reflection, the snakes of her hair were in a very different place. Sh

      8 min read

    • Article

      The Silent One

      Mar 1, 2023

      In the spring of the year 960, on the twenty-third day of the third month, a brilliant light shone in the northwest, and a baby girl was born to a fisherman’s family in Fujian Province. The girl was such a quiet, watchful child, her parents called he

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Story Of The Yara

      Aug 5, 2020

      The Story Of The Yara
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Silent One

      Mar 1, 2023

      In the spring of the year 960, on the twenty-third day of the third month, a brilliant light shone in the northwest, and a baby girl was born to a fisherman’s family in Fujian Province. The girl was such a quiet, watchful child, her parents called he

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Swan

      Aug 27, 2021

      The Swan
      5 min read

    • Article

      Pio

      Dec 15, 2019

      Pio
      2 min read

    • Article

      An unexpected LESSON

      Mar 9, 2021

      An unexpected LESSON
      6 min read

    • Article

      On Stones, Big and Small

      Nov 25, 2022

      On Stones, Big and Small
      7 min read

    • Article

      Taking The High Road

      Dec 17, 2019

      Taking The High Road
      9 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Once Around the Sun

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Once Around the Sun - Melanie Steyn

      ONCE

      AROUND

      THE SUN

      Written by Melanie Steyn

      Copyright © Melanie Steyn

      All Rights Reserved

      First published in September, 2010.

      No part of this book may be reproduced in any form

      without the written permission of the publisher.

      Published by Seoul Selection

      B1 Korean Publishers Association Bldg.,

      105-2 Sagan-Dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-190, Korea

      Tel : 82-2-734-9567

      Fax : 82-2-734-9562

      publisher@seoulselection.com

      www.seoulselection.com

      To my son, Kurt,

      and to what turned out to be more

      than one year in Korea.

      In Northeast Asia, but southeast of Beijing, there is a peninsula that has four distinct seasons and is blessed with abundant rain. Its people have lived there for nearly five thousand years, sometimes invaded, occupied or oppressed, but always surviving between the oceans and thousands of flint-shaped mountains.

      Were you to approach this peninsula from the west and head for a certain cove toward the southern end of Korea, you would arrive at a picturesque fishing village where many of the homes still have hipped and gabled roofs, a style so elegant that its beauty is moving. The village isn’t large and it’s changing all the time, like most things in Korea. The beaches tend to be muddy and are full of life-sustaining seafood. There is a single main road leading to the beach, whose squat buildings were thrown up quickly as the postwar poverty was ending. The only attempt at beauty is the flickering golden lights in the windows of the pub, called Uri (Our) Coffee and Hof.

      Even in a village this size, there is a very inexpensive Internet café, or "PC bang." Were you to wander in the other direction, up a winding dirt road lined with trees, including chestnut, Korean pines and persimmons, you would find a stream running beside you and be gladdened by the loveliness of the forest. Totem poles mark the border of the temple grounds. Later, there are the spectacular defenders of the gate, and then the colorful temple buildings. All of this is the setting for Once Around the Sun.

      Yi Chang-joon—or, in the Western manner, Changjoon Lee—is a family man from this village. Although it isn’t an urban family, it is in some ways a typical Korean family. Each member of Chang-joon’s family is the focus of a chapter, set in a particular season.

      THE RELIC

      Summer

      Dong-ju felt special, because he knew.

      The monks at the temple were all worried, especially the Temple Master, who had a face like a dried jujube. They were trying to keep it secret while they searched, but the relic was gone. It was a national treasure with a long number, and it used to stand in the row of tall jars in the museum.

      Of course, he’d never seen the sari himself, but someone must have photographed them, because the picture was always there against the wooden wall: the glittering gems that had survived the cremation, showing how advanced this Buddha had been. He wondered if they’d taken the photograph down.

      Once he’d passed the temple gates, Dong-ju started running up the wide path, avoiding most of the muddy spots. The stream was running energetically after some monsoon rains, even though it was no more than knee-deep. He loved the sound of the water and trotted along the side of the path where there was a full view of the stream. The water was clear, flowing up a foam around the rocks on its bed. The sun was hidden behind the steely mass of gray summer clouds, and the heat was oppressive. He crossed again to the forest side of the path, but the shade of the mountain trees didn’t help much either, and Dong-ju was still perspiring. He wanted to know—ah, there was the museum building now, right on the first corner of the temple compound.

      At the door, Dong-ju was startled to see that the jars were all there. Could the thieves have taken the contents, the holy relic, but left the jar? Dong-ju stepped out of his shoes below the rough wooden step and went up closer. Ah, no. The monks had replaced the jar with one that looked almost like the original, but it wasn’t as tall. And there, around the bottom of the jar, was a circle with no dust in it. The photograph was still in its place, as if nothing was wrong.

      Dong-ju’s heart ached. Where were the remains of the venerable monk now? A young monk came in, the friendly one who always seemed to notice him. They smiled at each other. Now Dong-ju moved along the row of jars and photographs, as if he were interested in them all. He reached the end and was about to slip out of the building when the young monk spoke.

      You’re interested in our museum, aren’t you, my child?

      Yes, it’s wonderful!

      I’m glad. Do you live nearby?

      Yes, in the fishing village.

      And your name is...?

      Yi Dong-ju.

      Is your father a fisherman?

      Yes.

      Well, I wish him success and good catches.

      Thank you, Sunim.

      Dong-ju was hungry, so he went home, where his mother gave him rice and spicy bean sprout soup. His older sister Ji-young ate at school. She was in her final high school year and Dong-ju hardly ever seemed to see her these days. While he was slurping up his soup, he thought about the dolmens of the monks—huge, beautiful boulders, some pagoda-shaped, with black characters on them. He couldn’t read Chinese, so they just looked like lovely patterns to him, but he knew they stood there to honor scholars and great monks of long ago. If only the sari of this monk had also been placed beneath a dolmen, they would have been much safer...

      Why are you looking so serious, Dong-ju?

      His mother would laugh if he told her that he, a boy of twelve, was going to solve a mystery that the monks couldn’t, so he wistfully said, I was wishing I could read Chinese characters, Omma.

      You can learn Chinese, if you want to.

      Yes, Omma. I’ll go to Jae-won now, all right?

      All right. I did say you could have three days of pure vacation before your study program starts.

      Thanks, Omma! he said, stepping back into his shoes to run across to Jae-won’s.

      It wasn’t a light decision to tell someone his secret, but Jae-won was different. Besides, Dong-ju needed his help, so he began to enjoy the idea that he had an amazing story to tell his friend. Jae-won was already waiting in the yard, and they could immediately start walking up to the ticket kiosk. They made an interesting picture: Dong-ju, light and agile, with half-moon eyes, and Jae-won with his very pale skin, slanting eyes, and heavier, short body.

      It can’t be! Jae-won was saying as they passed the grumpy attendant. He stopped talking until they were out of earshot, and interrupted their conversation to remark that the man seemed to resent the fact that local families didn’t need to buy tickets.

      Dong-ju agreed, and then resumed his assurances.

      Oh yes, it’s true. I overheard the whole conversation. I swear to you.

      Jae-won pressed him. So, one of them was the Temple Master?

      Yes, Dong-ju confirmed. He was talking to another monk. I was behind the rock—there, at the little pond, you know.

      It’s a good thing you’re so thin! his friend smiled.

      The monk said that some people will pay a lot of money for a treasure like that.

      They thought for a few moments before Dong-ju suggested, Maybe it’s too late, but you never know. Let’s keep watch. We must remember every visitor to the temple. After all, no one takes any notice of two boys fooling around.

      But you sometimes fool around so foolishly that everyone will notice you, Dong-ju, Jae-won smiled.

      Not this time. Watch me.

      So they walked on, passed the defenders of the gate, and moved all afternoon among the old buildings with their extraordinary hipped and gabled roofs. They watched the families that came to stroll around, two big foreigners, and they even kept an eye on one genuine pilgrim. He was climbing barefoot up the walkway with the varying textures, which prick or prod the soles of your feet. Dong-ju could walk up it fast, but Jae-won never got very far before it seemed like needless suffering to him.

      Dong-ju?

      Yes?

      I’m getting a bit tired of this. What would the thief be doing here now? He won’t come back.

      Dong-ju’s spirit rebelled because of the impotent rage he felt toward the thief, but he knew that Jae-won was actually talking sense.

      "Let’s go

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1