Literature

My Name Is Jang Seong-taek

Jeong Gwangmo
Pages
224
Dimensions
140*205
ISBN
978-89-6545-501-1 03810
Price
15,000KRW
Date
May 2018
Contents
Short Stories
*Grant from Busan Cultural Foundation in 2017
*Selected by Arts Council Korea for a creative writing grant in 2018

This book includes seven short stories written by Jeong Gwangmo. Each story is unique, with a different mood, subject matter, and setting. A realist work, a thriller, a story of a confession by a historical figure, and a story that links the issue of aging to the contemporary issue of big data, are all found in the book. Each story is summarized below.

1) Outing: Through the metaphors of “prison” and “outing”, the story reveals contemporary people who are unable to enter society or normal human relationships.

2) The End of an Autobiography: Beginning with a meeting for ghostwriting an autobiography, this story raises fundamental questions about the collision of an individual’s life with history, and about being human. Overall, the story has the feeling of an emotional thriller, with mounting tension and accelerating storyline. 

3) Your Place: The protagonist tattoos his pet on his body, exposing the forlorn nature of a love that has changed, and love that cannot be eternalized.

4) Homeward: A story from of a demented mother’s past (death of a child). The mother calls the care facility “home”, evoking sadness about times past. The reader feels loss and emptiness.

5) My Name Is Jang Seong-taek: Told from the first-person perspective of a character based on the real Jang Seong-taek, this story delivers a message about love, power, life, and the crossroads of each moment of decision. The first-person perspective reveals the inner thoughts of the protagonist through concise, neat sentences that carry heartrending sorrow.

6) An Attitude Toward Tsukasa Aoi: The story switches between an Internet broadcast interview and the main character’s typical day. Behind a witty setting and the shocking subject of the story, the reader can sense loneliness and sorrow from the gap between the ideals and the reality of contemporary people. 

7) Maron: In an over-populated future society where people grow old but do not die, old people’s lives are evaluated, and they are either isolated in a “heaven on earth” or punished. As in Tosku, the author’s original concept is impressive. The overall mood is refined, punctuated by escalating, explosive passages of praise for Maron (the divine being who evaluates the lives of old people).