When Tokchae and Songsam start taking a walk together, what does that show?

Tokchae and Songsam walk together through
most of the story "." The two men are on different sides of a conflict, and Tokchae is
Songsam's prisoner. Songsam agrees to escort Tokchae to Ch'ongdan. I think he volunteers because
the two men used to be boyhood friends, and Songsam wants to know why Tokchae didn't flee the
same way that he did.

Songsam had had to flee the previous
June. At night he had broken the news privately to his father. But his father had said the same
thing: "Where could a farmer go, leaving all the chores behind?" So Songsam had left
alone.

During the walk, the men encounter items that are
symbolic of the men's childhood together. The first item in the story that triggers a memory for
Songsam is chestnuts. They remind him of when Tokchae willingly gave up his own stash of
chestnuts for his friend. The second item that triggers a memory is a field filled with
cranes.

When they reached the foot of the hill, Songsam
gradually came to a halt. In the middle of a field he espied a group of cranes that resembled
men in white, all bent over.

The cranes remind Songsam of
the time when he and Tokchae caught a crane and thought they were going to get into big trouble
because of it.  The two boys freed the crane and watched it majestically fly away. It's after
remembering this event that Songsam asks Tokchae if he would like to go crane hunting. Songsam
turns his back and begins looking deep into the underbrush. Tokchae finally realizes that his
friend from long ago is giving him the chance to escape like the crane from their
childhood.

Hey, how come you are standing there like a
dummy? Go flush a crane!

Only then did Tokchae understand. He began crawling
through the weeds.

I feel that the crane is symbolic of
freedom and beauty. As for the walk itself, I believe that it shows that true friendship runs
deep. Songsam remembers their friendship, and I think he wants to reconnect on some level.
That's why he volunteers to be the escort. It's during the walk that all of the deep, meaningful
memories are triggered. The walk is what triggers all of the memories for Songsam. Those
memories give him the confidence and the desire to set his friend free.