A Fabled Reading of a Korean Story: The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly

This article examines the children’s novel The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly as a critique of eugenics, the practice of ‘improving’ humanity by eliminating traits deemed undesirable. Such culling, as reflected in the text, undermines individuality and raises ethical concerns. Beyond this critique, the article deepens the fable’s reading by exploring its portrayal of relationships across racial boundaries, emphasising the inherent personhood of nonhuman animals. It argues that motherhood serves as a means to challenge eugenic ideas of living beings. Drawing on Sztybel’s view that continuity of consciousness defines personhood – and that death entails a permanent loss of memory, desire, perception, and pain – the article asserts that both humans and animals share these traits. This shared capacity confers innate personhood, especially on animals who endure suffering. Such a framework offers an ethical alternative to eugenics, which legitimises culling. Through the character Sprout, the novel embodies this challenge: her unwavering desire for motherhood defies imposed racial and species boundaries. She raises a mallard chick as a hen and ultimately offers herself to feed weasel young. Sprout’s journey critiques categorical divisions and affirms the value of individual lives, rejecting eugenic hierarchies in favour of compassion and kinship.