The Boy is Here [Nobel Prize Winner Han Kang's Most Brutal and Beautiful Masterpiece]

소년이온다

Han Jiang's "The Vegetarian," which won the Man Booker Prize, has resonated with readers around the world. It is a masterpiece of cruel beauty.
Those young men who mustered up the courage to face the army,
He was the boy who decided to stay in the Gwangju Incident.
He was also the boy his mother couldn't take away on the night of May 18th.
Those young men who died for us,
He is also the boy who still moves around you and me like a shadow.

"In a world where dignity and violence coexist, the next Gwangju could emerge in every corner and every generation." - Han Jiang

■BTS's Kim Namjoon's moving recommendation!
◎One of Amazon's top 100 books in 2017◎Winner of the 2017 Malaparte Prize in Italy
◎2016 Guardian Book of the Year, Irish Times Book of the Year ◎2014 Winner of the Manhae Literature Award in South Korea
◎ Touching readers around the world, 400,000 copies sold in Korea!
He Sana (Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Soochow University), Fang Huizhen (Writer, Journalist), Chen Youjin (Novelist), Chen Xue (Novelist), Chen Qingde (Korean social and cultural expert, author of "Rewriting Korea"), Liu Zijie (Writer) ◎ Unanimous Recommendation (In alphabetical order)

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◆It's ridiculous, how can a fist beat a gun?
In May 1980, citizens and students in Gwangju, South Korea, organized a protest against the Chun Doo-hwan regime. Fifteen-year-old Dong-ho and his friend Jung-dae joined the demonstration. When the government sent troops into Gwangju and brutally suppressed the protests, and soldiers began shooting civilians, Dong-ho fled and hid in fear, witnessing Jung-dae being shot dead in the street.

Feeling guilty, Donghao comes to the Sangmu Hall in the Provincial Hall to look for the corpse. He meets Eun-sook, a high school girl in charge of burying the body, and Sun-joo, a young seamstress. They ask him to stay and help, and he also gets to know Jin-soo, a college boy in charge of allocating manpower and materials in the hall.

While assisting with the registration of the unknown body, Donghao often felt guilty about his cowardice. A few days later, when the military was about to storm the temple, Donghao was determined to hold on to the end...

◆Why is he dead and I am still alive?
Eun-sook, who can no longer eat meat after handling corpses; Jin-soo, a university student who faces inhumane treatment in a detention center; Sun-joo, who isolates herself after carrying the burden of being imprisoned in a cesspool; and Dong-ho, a mother who failed to persuade her son Dong-ho to return home in time. For the rest of their lives, they will carry the guilt of the boy who summoned the courage to join the army...

Author's words
"I can't escape this novel"
"I sat at my desk feeling punished."
“If I don’t write it, I’m not going to get anywhere.”

This book wasn't written for me personally. I dedicated it to my feelings, my existence, and the lives lost, the survivors, and the families of the victims during the Gwangju protests. ... In the end, it wasn't me who helped them, but they who helped me. I didn't do anything but write a book. --- Han Jiang, acceptance speech for the Italian "Prix Maraparte"

Features of this book

● Writer Han Jiang was born in Gwangju. He used his father’s student Donghao as the protagonist and collected information and interviewed survivors to write the novel.

● This novelist interprets the Gwangju Incident through the lens of a novelist, exploring the psychological motivations of those involved. Through the voices of various characters, the film depicts the brutality of the incident, the helplessness and guilt of the survivors, the darkness and violence within the human heart, as well as conscience, courage, and hope.

Media Commentary
● "Young People Are Coming" truly stands as a novel, bringing the Gwangju incident to the reader's very eyes... These characters, standing in for the silent living and dead, express their anger, sorrow, powerlessness, and dignity. Before we are able to speak the truth, let us read novels first. When these small voices are heard, the novel is free and can give us back more reality. --Chen Youjin (Novelist)

● Han Jiang's "The Boys Are Coming," every word like the shattered glass of Gwangju, poignantly reminds us of the novelist's other mission: The pen we hold is a gun or a sword, resounding only for justice, swinging only for light. The pen we hold is also a needle or thread, stitching together the blurred flesh and blood of forgotten history, weaving a brilliant and wonderful flower on the wounds of history. We write only to be remembered. --Liu Zijie (author)

Han Jiang's magical writing, traversing life and death, pieced together the Gwangju Incident of May 18, 1980, through the gazes, memories, words, pain, and farewells of seven people. Through Han Jiang's pen, contemporary Koreans search for memories of the past and smooth over present pain, all in the hope of embarking on a brighter future. — Chen Qingde (Korean social and cultural expert, author of "Rewriting Korea")

● The author vividly portrays the people who suffered and endured pain in a world of darkness and violence, leading the reader to look directly into the Gwangju of that year, as if they were witnessing the bloody and violent massacre firsthand. The narrator's testimony and the reader's imagination combine to create an unforgettable and heartfelt confession, allowing us to re-experience the city's long ten days of suffering. This novel, which still seeks the purest bird in the fragments of sunlight reflected by water droplets, tells us what historical memories truly need to be embraced. --Literary critic Baek Ji-ryeon

● Some themes, once chosen, put the author's storytelling skills to the test. In Korean history, the Gwangju Incident of May 1980 is a prime example. However, what we desperately want to know is no longer the harsh punishment and restoration of rights based on historical facts, but the perspective and exploration of the structure of harm. This is a novel that only Han Kang can surpass Han Kang. --Literary critic Shin Hyung-chul (신형철)

● A work of intense emotion! Han Jiang's "The Boys Are Coming" captures the paradox of human nature: the opening chapters, with scenes of corpses strewn across the ground, tell readers how bloodthirsty bestiality destroys humanity, but we can also show a spirit of fraternity, suffer and sacrifice for our principles and beliefs, which makes us real people. The author's way of summarizing this paradox is excellent. The book hopes to connect personal experiences with political events, and it has such a powerful rendering power in depicting the former. For example, the author describes a mother's longing for her deceased son in detail and concretely, just as she lays out this tragic event, fully demonstrating her ability to control words. - The Independent, UK

● Han Jiang's writing is clear and reserved, and she handles shocking and tragic themes with extremely warm brushstrokes. ——The Times

Han Jiang uses a unique narrative style to recount the 10-day Gwangju Incident in South Korea in 1980 and the ripples it caused psychologically, spiritually, and politically in South Korea. This gave me a deep understanding of the brutality inflicted on the young people in Gwangju. Her writing is simple yet deeply emotional. — The Guardian's 2016 Recommended Book List
● Han Jiang is an incredible storyteller. She questions the purpose of humanity and, through the heartbreaking experiences of her characters, sees the constant tension between good and evil, which also makes people have many questions in their hearts. Her poetic language moves between different viewpoints like flowing water, but she also boldly uses unadorned and simple words to simulate and recreate the severe conflict in history and the passionate emotions that permeated the world at that time. The description of the Gwangju Democratization Movement in such an unpleasant way actually draws readers in until the end of the story. ——"Book List"

● Beautiful and brutal... A bold examination of the human condition, with unbearable diagnoses, this seemingly cold and heartless novel actually strikes a chord with the reader. -- The Irish Times 2016 Recommended Book List
● A must-read work, universal in its appeal, resonating deeply... It tears our hearts apart, lingers in our hearts with a lingering emotion, and alternates between dreams and sorrow... ——New York Times Book Review

● Heartbreaking… Han Jiang’s novel attempts to put the unbearable into words. She focuses on the ordinary, humanizing the horrific violence of the repression, as seen in the characters’ help in caring for and transporting the victims’ bodies, and their struggle to return to normal life years after the events. Han Jiang allows readers to recall Donghao’s life through the words of his family and friends, giving a voice to those who have lost their lives. —Publishers Weekly

● Fascinating... The result is torturous but gripping, with a cold depiction of death and pain that keeps you glued to your screen... Han Jiang seems to have hypnotized you, pulling you into the horrific scenes of the Gwangju incident and questioning human nature. No one can escape being caught up in it. This work is chilling and painfully direct. - Los Angeles Times

● Fresh and unpretentious, cleverly crafted, and heartbreaking... "The Boys" grapples with the historical aftermath of the Gwangju Massacre, asking: Why do humans die? And what happens to those who survive? Han Jiang tackles these difficult questions and relentless questions with originality and audacity, making "The Boys" a must-read book of 2017. --Chicago Review of Books

Han Kang explores the myriad wounds of brutal politics, weaving together a masterful novel through unforgettable details and piercingly emotional truths… a work of intense writing, impact, and utter humanity. —Kirkus Reviews

Han Kang explores the myriad wounds of brutal politics, weaving together a masterful novel through unforgettable details and piercingly emotional truths… a work of intense writing, impact, and utter humanity. —Kirkus Reviews

● What stands out most about Han Kang's novel is its unflinching, unemotional portrayal of death. It's hard to think of another work that so vividly and persuasively deals with the different stages of physical decay. Han Kang's writing isn't meant to be a breezy read, but rather offers a profound insight into life's final stages, and this section is brilliantly executed. --Boston Globe

● Despite its horrifying subject matter, the story is beautifully written, its delicately crafted imagery impossible to avoid or look away from… "The Boys Are Coming" isn't long, but it raises profound philosophical and spiritual questions without offering any solace. The story revolves around the questions of who we are, how much we can endure, and what kind of harm we can inflict on others… — St. Louis Post-Dispatch

● Inspiring... The story never fails to draw a dull moment... What the novelist ultimately reconstructs is not only an excellent record of the suffering of the people during this particularly turbulent and contentious period in Korean history, but also a written testimony to the people's willingness to endure suffering, arrest, and even their own lives simply to resist for their beliefs or to lend a hand to others in need. -- San Francisco Chronicle

● This novel offers profound and humane answers to difficult questions and is a moving tribute to the victims of atrocities. ——Book Page

● Fascinating… Han Jiang, with the subtlety and power of a storyteller, lifts this conflict out of the confines of history and into the intimate space of each irreplaceable individual. —Minneapolis Star-Tribune

2023-06-19

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