Rain Shower

"Rain Shower", also "Shower" or "Sonagi" (소나기), is a Korean short story written by Korean writer Hwang Sun-won in 1952. A sonagi is a brief but heavy rain shower that starts suddenly, usually on a hot afternoon. In Hwang’s story, the rain shower symbolizes the short but heart-rending love between the boy and the girl.

“Rain Shower,” like many of Hwang’s other stories, was written while he lived as a refugee with his family during the Korean War.

Although many of Hwang’s short stories are notable, “Rain Shower” is cited as his timeless Korean classic and continues to be one of the most-read short stories in Korean literature. Koreans of all ages are acquainted with this story, but its addition to the school curriculum has made it particularly popular among schoolchildren. It is famous for its poignant depiction of the Korean countryside and of innocent adolescent love. The picturesque scenes from this story stir nostalgia for many people.

The scene from "Rain Shower" where the boy and the girl avoid the rain shower together has become a favorite in many Korean romantic films. There is a 1979 Korean film based on the short story (also called Sonagi). Two notable films that heavily reference the story include the 2001 Korean romantic comedy My Sassy Girl, the 2003 Korean melodrama The Classic, and 2004 Korean Dramas Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Tropical Nights in December Episode 1 parodies. "Rain Shower" was also adapted into an animation in August 2017.

Plot summary
The story begins as a boy spies on the great-granddaughter of Mr. Yoon, who is sitting on a stepping stone in a stream. She is scooping up handfuls of water in an effort to catch her reflection. Suddenly, she turns around and throws a pebble at the boy, which the boy picks up.

The boy returns to the stream the next day, but the girl is not there. From that day on, he develops the habit of rubbing the pebble that was thrown at him. One day, it is the boy who is sitting on the stepping stone trying to catch his own reflection in the water. As he is doing so, he sees the reflection of the girl in the water. Embarrassed, he runs away but trips over a stepping stone.

On a Saturday, the boy and the girl meet again and she shows him a “silk clam”. They become good friends and run around the countryside, playing with scarecrows in the field and a calf. After being reprimanded by the owner of the calf, they suddenly find themselves under heavy rainfall. They first seek shelter in an old lookout, but later decide to take shelter in a haystack as the rain keeps pouring in. After the rain stops, the boy carries the girl on his back to help her cross a ditch.

The boy returns to the stream in subsequent days, but the girl is never there. After a long time, the girl appears to tell him that she has been ill ever since she got a cold in the rain and that she is still not feeling well. She also shows him the dress that she wore that day, which was stained by the water from the ditch. Before she leaves, she gives him some dates that she took from her family’s ancestral worship ceremony that day.

The boy sneaks into a walnut grove that evening to pick some walnuts for the girl, planning to give them later as a way of thanking her. However, as he returns home and is lying on the bed, he overhears his father speaking to his mother that the Yoon family’s fortune has declined and that the girl has died. The father also mentions that she must have been an extraordinary girl, because she said she wanted to be buried in the same clothes she was wearing that day.

Sonagi Village
In 2009, Sonagi Village and Hwang Soon Won Literary House were opened by Yangpyeong-gun at Sooneung-ri, Seojong-myeon.