[The Glory] Not a fairy tale, but WHAT?

  

There’s something more in Korean that you miss

   At the end of episode 1 of part 1, Dong-eun takes a seat with Ye-sol and told her,

“That’s because this story (which she told Ye-sol) isn’t a fairy tale.”

   You might have a question; then, what’s the genre of the story she’ll tell us? In fact, she gives a clear answer, but in Korean. Before diving into the answer, let’s find out what other options her story could be: fable, legend, and myth

Can you guess what Dong-eun said to Ye-sol?

이 이야기는… 동화가 아니라 우화거든
That’s because this story isn’t a fairy tale, but a fable”

   Why does she say it’s not a fairy tale but a fable? What does it mean? The followings are the three reasons I think why the story isn’t a fairy tale but a fable.


No magic, only TENACITY

   Usually, in a fairy tale, there’re characters or an object with a magical power such as Tinker Bell (of Peter Pan), Ursula (of The Little Mermaid), or the Magic Mirror (of Snow White). In the story, ordinary characters also appear and we can feel how special and powerful the magic is.

   However, in the journey of Dong-eun’s revenge, there’s no magic but a harsh reality to her, and she reaches the end with her tenacity; from feeding herself and being a teacher to keeping a distance from people and standing the offenders with a perfect plan. It can be said that the desire for revenge is the reason for her living.


No good and evil, but OFFENDER and VICTIM

   The fairy tale is often written for children. Therefore, the story tries not to confuse readers about who is good and who is bad. One easy way is to describe evil as a cruel and violent character while good as a suppressed or damaged one.

   Considering the above rule, Yeon-jin seems the evil and Dong-eun seems the good. However, it’s not that simple. Of course, Yeon-jin and her group are brutal and vicious. No doubt. But, can we say Dong-eun is good? It is hard to say she is innocent in the revenge and of course, she doesn’t care about it.

   At the end of episode 1, Dong-eun says, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a scar for a scar, the one who injured shall suffer the same injury. Well, maybe not. Then, I would be playing too fair” Thinking about her words, you can notice there would be only offenders and victims; one developing from a victim to an offender and the other ruined by her.


Not for Children, Especially It Hurts Ye-sol

   A major purpose of a fairy tale is to entertain children, while a fable is to provide a lesson. Considering the motivation of Dong-eun - to teach the offenders how desperate a life can become, - her story cannot be developed as like a fairy tale. In particular, the story is definitely hurting Ye-sol.

   Some of you can think the situation is too harsh for Ye-sol, an innocent child. Yes, right, and Dong-eun also recognizes that. However, as she said somewhere in the series, she was also just an innocent girl when bullied by Yeon-jin and her friends. So, the naive girl grows up as an adult avenging the assault on her, repeating a birth of a person with hurt.


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