SDF

One day, while doing my postgrad research on the modern novel, I began asking myself what exactly my role was in the institution I belonged to. My book, Naneun Jibangdae Sigangangsada ("I Am a Part-time Instructor at a Provincial University”, 2015) was my attempt to answer that question. I left academia afterwards, and went on to write Daerisahoe (Society of Designated Drivers), in which I envisioned Korean society as one giant driver’s seat, but in someone else’s car; Amuteun, Mangwondong (2017), a collection of essays on the Mangwon-dong neighborhood, and my book of comics criticism, Gobaek, Sonjit, Yeon-gyeol (Confession, Gesture, Connection, 2018). Today, I write and do different kinds of work here and there.

This work has also included book development. I worked with writer KIM Dong Shik on his books Hoesaekingan (Gray Human), Sesangeseo Gajang Yakhan Yogoe (The World’s Weakest Monster), and 13ilui Kimnamu (13 Days, KIM Namwoo). The first time I read KIM’s writings on an online forum, I knew I was witnessing the birth of a writer for our times. His books were among the most widely read in 2018, and he was a finalist for the Writer of Today award. He is proof that it is possible for writers to have careers that are driven by the appreciation of their readers, and not by honors conferred by a system of judges. These writers are living symbols of the hope of today’s generation. I want to continue to read the works of KIM and other such writers, and continue to seek answers to my questions through my own writing as well.