by Mi-ae Lee; Illus by Ae-ro Yoo
Translated by Chunoc Lee & John H. T. Harvey

size: 25.1x21cm 36pages. publisher: Borim, 1997.

About this book
The Two Love Stars involves the wonders of nature and the eternal human theme of love. In bygone days, looking at the countless stars studding the entire sky, and experiencing rain almost every seventh day of the seventh lunar month, our Korean ancestors would tell their children this beautiful story. Every country or tribe has different tales about the constellations, the hunter Orion or Pegasus in the Greek myths, for instance. Kyonu, or Altair, is the brightest star in Aquila, and Chingnyo, or Vega, is the brightest one in Lyla. They face each other across the Milky Way. In East Asia the Milky Way is considered to be a river and Altair and Vega a pair of "love stars." Different peoples drew out, added, transformed, or interpreted the theme in slightly different ways, and pictured it in their native colors. The Koreans created this story about the vast river of the Milky Way separating a pair of lovers. In this telling, the story is both idyllic and sad. In particular, the writer unfurls the story with sophisticated simplicity and the artist's beautiful touches add to the sentiment.