Leafie, A Hen into the Wild (hangul: 마당을 나온 암탉) is a children's story written by Hwang Sunmi(황선미). The story depicts the freedom, will and instinctive motherly love of a hen. The leading character Leafie exhibits strength. She doesn't settle for the fate she is given but accepts challenges and welcomes adventure. The story was made into a movie in 2011.[1]
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Leafie(잎싹, leaf<잎>+sprout<싹>) lives on a chicken farm where she is in a cage with many other egg-laying hens. However, she can't incubate the eggs even though they are her own. Dreaming of having her own young, she plans to escape the farm. While escaping, a weasel threatens Leafie, but Nagnae (a mallard duck, 나그네) helps her to escape. She arrives in the wild, and learns more about another mallard duck (Wanderer), and soon sees him lose a fight.[2] Finding an egg (which later turns out to be the mallard's) in the wild, she takes care of it until it hatches. When it hatches, it thinks Leafie is its mother. Leafie cares for the duckling and names him "Chorok head" or "Greenie" (초록머리, 초록 in movie). Leafie and Greenie go through more trials as he grows up.
The movie version of Leafie, A Hen into the Wild received the the best animation award in the 5th Asia Pacific Screen Awards.[3]