Dazzling Greetings _007

Author's Note _312

A child who had to find his own place in a foreign country
The female nurses who cared for me with affection
Recalling their memories and looking back on childhood with a broader perspective
A serious step toward breaking free from the shadows of the past

When you open the pages of 『Dazzling Greetings』, you meet a girl who had to sincerely tell lies to comfort others in their sorrow.
The girl's name is 'Lee Hae-mi'.
Aida lost her older sister in a city gas explosion in 1994 and realized the tragedy of life too early.
Mom and Dad are struggling so much that they can't hide the pain of losing their older sister from Haemi, while their younger sister, Haena, is still young and seems to be completely innocent, as if she doesn't know what happened.
Haemi, who has become the eldest daughter, reassures her parents with white lies, accepts Hannah's whining, and swallows her sadness alone.
Even when Haemi and Hannah move to City G in Germany, following their mother's decision to separate from their father, Haemi hides her true feelings from her family.

If it were my sister who was alive instead of me, she would definitely have made Mom and Dad happy.
Whenever I thought about it, it was unbearably painful.
“Okay.” I hated going to a foreign country as much as I hated hearing people gossiping in Korea, but I said that for Mom and Dad’s sake.
Sometimes, making others happy required resignation. (p. 30)

Even in City G, Haemi continues to lie about not hurting anyone in order to pretend that she is adapting well to the unfamiliar environment.
The first person to notice Haemi's loneliness and anxiety and extend a warm hand to her was Haemi's biological aunt, Aunt Haengja.
Aunt Haengja became a nurse assistant in Germany and settled there, forming a community with Aunt Maria, Aunt Seonja, and many other female nurses who were sent to Germany.
Under the care of numerous 'aunts,' Haemi is inspired by the healthy energy and positivity of the nurses who had gone to Germany before her, putting in all their effort to establish themselves in a foreign country.
As Hae-mi encounters the unique individuality and charm of these women as individual subjects, rather than as a collective group that sacrificed their lives for their families and country, she gradually restarts her daily life that had been at a standstill.

“Isn’t it so beautiful that I don’t know what to do?”
I was startled by the sudden words and looked back at Aunt Seonja.
Aunt Seonja's gaze was not directed at me, but at the people taking pictures under the trees where white light was fluttering.
“Isn’t it so beautiful that it makes you want to live because you’ll be able to see something this beautiful next year too?”
The flower shadow on Aunt Seonja's face, which always looked expressionless and angry, fluttered like lace whenever the wind blew.
Aunt Seonja's face would brighten like a flower's water every time Aunt Maria would strike a comical pose to make us laugh. (Page 74)

After meeting Maria's aunt's daughter, Lena, and Seonja's aunt's son, Hansu, Haemi's life in Germany begins to shine even brighter.
The friendship between the three children grows stronger as Hansoo makes a secret request to Haemi and Lena: to help them find the first love of Hansoo's mother, Aunt Seonja.
The children secretly read their aunt Seonja's diary to find clues about the identity of their first love.
The diary is filled with heartbreaking love stories that Aunt Seonja has kept for over 20 years since she left for Germany in 1973.
But the only thing that is certain is that the initials of that first love are 'KH'.
As she and her friends gather around, using all kinds of reasoning and imagination to find KH, Haemi gradually regains her bright and innocent appearance.


I started to like the city little by little and started to feel like it was my place.
Finally, it seemed like our family was getting close to happiness.
It was such a happiness that I felt guilty whenever I thought of my sister.
A happiness so great that I had to talk to my sister inwardly whenever guilt pricked my heart.
“Sister, what power does the human heart have that ultimately makes it move in a direction that is constantly improving?” (p. 109)

However, the warm relief of finally finding a place for herself was short-lived, as in 1997, when the foreign exchange crisis hit Korea, Haemi returned to Korea after suffering another great loss.

As time passes and Haemi becomes an adult, she is still haunted by the tragedy of her childhood.
Haemi, who had been avoiding deep interactions with others to avoid getting hurt, one day accidentally reunites with Woojae, a college classmate with whom she had shared subtle romantic feelings.
And Haemi's sensitivity towards others begins to awaken again thanks to Woojae, who actively approaches her to open her heart.
Haemi decides to look for KH by reading her aunt Seonja's diary once again.
I believe that if I can uncover the wounds that have been buried for a long time and correct the past mistakes that have been left as failures, I can overcome my fear of relationships with others and get one step closer to Woojae.

Now begins Haemi's courageous journey to confront her younger self, who was too young to bear the immense sorrow.

Like a bright light pouring through a tunnel of sorrow
A heartbreaking greeting of reconciliation that arrived after a long time apart

In "Dazzling Greetings," the main plot of the story is about Haemi, who tried to find her aunt Seonja's first love KH when she was young, and then sets out to find KH again 20 years later.
Through these two attempts, Haemi feels that she has grown a lot in the meantime.
As Haemi discovers clues about KH that she would never have been able to notice from her younger perspective, she begins to acknowledge that the limitations of her childhood that had frustrated her were inevitable at the time.
By accepting the past through her naturally expanded perspective over time, Haemi is able to fully accept her present self, which will soon become the past.

The presence of others who watch over Haemi as she makes peace with herself and makes a dazzling leap forward is also precious.
They continue to ask about Haemi's well-being so that she can come out of the inner world in which she has isolated herself.
The novel says that this act of readily reaching out to others based on interest and affection for humanity can sometimes save someone's life.
With the publication of this affectionate novel, Baek Su-rin now reaches out to readers.
“I hope this book can reach anyone who needs it and give them the strength to take a step toward a dazzling world” (Baek Su-rin, ‘Author’s Note’).
You may not have noticed it yet, but before you knew it, you had found the courage to approach those who are precious to you.

"Dazzling Greetings" depicts the footsteps of people who have resolved to achieve the difficult task of sincere reconciliation with others and with themselves, whom they have grown distant from due to various tragedies in life.
The power contained in those serious steps is fully conveyed to the reader and transformed into a driving force for creating a more kind and beautiful world.
A real force created from a fictional world.
Isn't this the best encouragement a novel can give us?

Author's Note

Around that time, I heard a lot of stories from people around me telling me to write a full-length novel, but I wasn't easily moved by any of them.
But that day, at the summer dinner table, I heard an anecdote about the 'Padok Nurse' and my heart raced for the first time in a long time with a premonition that I might finally be able to write my first full-length novel, that there must be a story that only I, and no one else, can write.
There's a significant gap between the story I had in mind that day, the story I wanted to write and believed I could write, and the story I actually completed, but I'll never forget that feeling of elation that filled me with the anticipation of being able to write my first novel.