forest
It's not a kiln, a kiln, or a kiln
Mouth that eats mouth
blackout
Omusa
Stars and Matryoshka
island

Reviews
Rewriting a review

Hwang Jeong-eun's first full-length novel, "A Hundred Shadows," has been republished with a new cover and refined prose.
Hwang Jeong-eun, who has solidified her own literary domain with her beautiful and unique personality, is already a trusted writer with just her name, but 『A Hundred Shadows』 shines even brighter as the work that announced the beginning of her overwhelming worldview.
This work has caused a great stir in the literary world since its first publication in 2010, popularizing terms such as "Hwang Jeong-eun style" and "Hwang Jeong-eun style." It has also been loved so much that it has been produced into secondary creative works voluntarily by readers, such as plays and comics.
With a unique imagination that transcends reality and fantasy, and sentences engraved with Hwang Jeong-eun's signature, "A Hundred Shadows" exquisitely portrays the bonds and tender feelings of love among people living in a crumbling city, touching the hearts of readers with a poignant yet warm touch.
What is particularly impressive is the undiminished vitality of this work, as it masterfully portrays the everyday violence that occurs in urban spaces and the tenacious lives of those who live against it.
The author also expressed his gratitude for the readers who consistently read the novel, saying that despite the world's violence becoming more blatant and subtle, he was able to continue writing thanks to them, explaining the significance of this re-publication. (From "Rewriting Afterword") "A Hundred Shadows," which was a sensation, is now poised to join the ranks of "21st-century classics" representing Korean fiction.


Urban Violence: A Shadow That Rises of Itself
Still good people

The main characters of this novel, Eun-gyo and Mu-jae, work in an electronics store in the heart of the city that is about to be demolished.
On a trip with co-workers, the two become separated from the group and lose their way, where Eun-gyo has a strange experience where her shadow rises and moves on its own.
From then on, the 'shadow' functions as a being that adds fantasy to this story and as an entity that reveals the pain of each character.
"A Hundred Shadows" is a love story between Eun-gyo and Mu-jae, but it is also a huge omnibus of the people who live intertwined lives in the electronics shopping mall, the foundation of life.
Examining the shadow history of each character is also an opportunity to examine the details of violence that occurs in urban spaces.
All the characters in this novel are familiar with the unrealistic phenomenon of shadows rising on their own.
So to speak, these are people who have experienced the shadows rising, people who have experienced violence and pain.
In this novel, people experience a phenomenon in which their shadows separate when they experience something that they cannot handle in reality.
And you either feel the urge to follow it or you end up suffering and dying.
When Eun-gyo's shadow first appears, Mu-jae tells Eun-gyo, "Don't follow something like a shadow" (page 10).
As if he knew very well about the phenomenon of shadows.
The same goes for Ms. Yeo, who works in the same space as Eun-gyo.
His first reaction was, “I shouldn’t have followed you” (page 33).
They have experienced various crises, including the breakup of their families, loss of jobs, and the loss of loved ones.
Hwang Jeong-eun tries not to make their stories secondary.
It makes us think again about the word “slum” (pp. 124-25), which means an area where poor people live, and calls out the names of “the five buildings, A, B, C, D, and E” (pp. 36) one by one.
However, the main plot of this story is the love story between Eun-gyo and Mu-jae.
After wandering around the streets, the two quickly become close.
But their love is somehow strange.
When Eun-gyo says she can't sleep, Mu-jae comes running at night and plays badminton with her, and Eun-gyo pretends not to notice that Mu-jae has already eaten lunch and eats it with him, but there are also times when they don't see each other separately for "several weeks" (page 83).
They are already facing the massive violence of the city.
That's why their relationship is about making a living while doing their best for each other in that moment, drinking warm rice cakes and sharing an umbrella, walking together in the playground, calling each other when there's a power outage, singing songs, and maintaining goodness.
Finally, in the final chapter, the two go on a trip to an island.
The twists and turns experienced during the journey and the dialogue exchanged there are the highlights of this novel.
And the conversation naturally leads to questions and reflections about where readers live.
A landscape with good people living against the weight of violence and reality.



The first step towards becoming a representative writer of Korean literature,
Now is the time to read this novel.

"A Hundred Shadows," which won the Hankook Ilbo Literary Award immediately after its publication, was also selected for the list of "Novels of Our Time" by KBS and the Korean Literary Critics Association in 2022, demonstrating its continued artistic quality.
In particular, the episode of 'Yoo-gon's' father, who died in a tower crane accident, reminds us of tragic accidents such as the recent collapse of an apartment construction site in Gwangju, and provides an opportunity to reflect on the deaths that still occur in the city.
The unwavering popularity and immersion of 『A Hundred Shadows』 is likely due to its warm gaze toward the dark and thoughtful attitude.

Meanwhile, Hwang Jeong-eun has raised great expectations by announcing that she will publish a new novel to accompany this work in 2023.
What kind of cityscape will Hwang Jeong-eun, who has already joined the ranks of representative Korean writers, winning awards such as the Manhae Literary Award, Daesan Literary Award, Lee Hyo-seok Literary Award, Kim Yu-jeong Literary Award, and the Young Writer Award, rewrite?
To confirm that desolate yet warm landscape, the best time to reread 『A Hundred Shadows』 is right now.