When the Buckwheat Flowers Bloom[1][2] (Korean: 메밀꽃 필 무렵) also translated as The Buckwheat Season[3][4] is a 1936 short story by Korean writer Lee Hyo-seok. That story has been described as "widely known to Koreans for its lyrical qualities",[5] "outstanding"[6] and a "modern classic",[7] and even "the pinnacle of literary art in Korea",[1] and has been adopted into a movie directed by Lee Song-gu in 1967.[8]
The story has been subject to studies by Korean literature scholars.[9][5]
Mr. Heo is a middle-aged itinerant vender, who goes market to market to sell his products with his friend, Mr. Jo. Heo has never had a serious relationship with a woman, despite his age, and has no family. The only memory he has and cherishes is about the night in Bongpyeong when he met a woman and spent the night with her. He tells this story to his friend Jo over and over again on their journey. And one night, under a luminous moon, Heo and Jo walks on a mountain road covered with full-blown buckwheat flowers, with a young itinerant vendor, Dong-i, who has decided to travel with them for a moment. Naturally, Heo repeats his story once again, and Dong-i tells the story of his mother. She is from Bongpyeong, but she had to leave her hometown after she had sex with a stranger and got pregnant with her son, Dong-i. Heo listens to the story carefully until he trips and falls into a creek. Dong-i carries Heo on his back, and Heo feels 'the warmth sinking deep into his bone.' Then he finds out that Dong-i is left-handed, just like himself.
The story has been adapted into several works in Korean:
It has also received a number of translations, including at least three into English language.[5]