Part 1: Jiwoo's Story 007
Part 2: The River's Story 107
Part 3: The Story of Yeoul 187
Part 4 Our Story 273

Epilogue 362
Author's Note 375

Source 381
Reference 382

Like a star that shines brighter in the dark
A voice of solidarity illuminating the margins of our society

Jiwoo, Kang-i, and Yeo-ul, all nineteen years old, are friends who were born and raised in the same village in Eun-gang-gu, Incheon.
Eun-gang, the setting of "The Little Ball Shot by a Dwarf," is now a place where apartments have replaced shantytowns, unlike the 1970s landscape depicted in the novel, but it has been pushed further away from the city center.
Those who pursued success left Eun-gang and moved to the new city, and even today, poor workers who are no different from the 'dwarf family' still live in Eun-gang.
Jiwoo, a high school senior, has a dream of writing a novel about the life of his great-aunt, a laid-off worker who led the Eun-gang Textile struggle.
After his mother, who worked at Eun-gang Textiles, passes away at a young age, Kang-i lives with his maternal grandmother. He works part-time at a chicken restaurant and dreams of becoming a nurse.
Yeoul is obsessed with preparing for the entrance exam to a teacher's college in order to escape poverty from Eun-gang.
Although each of them has different family backgrounds and dreams, the three friends unknowingly become strong supports for each other.
Then one day, the district office promotes a 'room experience center' that infringes on the residents' living space under the pretext of 'developing Eungang-gu as a tourist attraction.'
In the face of the logic of capital, even poverty is commodified and the idea of ​​putting the foundation of life on display is met with opposition from Jiwoo, Kang-i, and Yeo-ul, along with their friends.
In the process, the children gain a deeper understanding of the history of Eun-gang, which has been passed down since their grandmother's time, and come to realize the reality as they face the society surrounding them.
The three friends, who have grown up a little, celebrate their twenties with a heavy heart on December 31, 2016, the last day of their teenage years, holding candles at Gwanghwamun Square.


“Kim Yeo-ul, you know what? Stars shine brighter when you look at them from the corner of your eye than when you look at them straight on.
Pick a star like this, look straight at it, and then glance sideways.
Then the stars appear to twinkle more brightly than when viewed straight on.
“Just give it a try.”
(…)
“People think that the periphery is not that important.
But that's not the case.
As you can see, the edges of the eyes shine brighter, so those of us on the edges can see better and shine brighter.” - Main text, page 241


Whether it's sadness or joy, we have to share everything to survive.
Our neighborhood, our neighbors' stories

As in ‘The Children of the Magpie’, the author’s gaze is still directed towards ‘people’.
The people his gaze lingers on are like constellations in the night sky, who may not stand out on their own, but shine brightly together.

The fight of Okja, the grandmother of Jiwoo, a laid-off worker at Eungang Textile, has not ended even after decades.
Because I have not yet received an apology from the company for the unfair oppression.
In this work, author Kim Jung-mi calls upon the female factory workers of the 1970s not as forgotten figures in the events that transpired, but as protagonists who constantly voice their own opinions.
Okja's fight is not only a testament to her own life and that of her colleagues, but also a message of encouragement to young workers who are fighting the same fight.
When they are by each other's side, they are no longer separated by generational divisions such as old and young, but are united under the name of 'comrade'.
Jiwoo's mother, Gyeongsun, met Jiwoo's father, who was working in the local area, and they started a family.
Unlike my father, who continued his civic activism, I feel sorry for my mother, who devoted herself to raising children and making a living after getting married.
However, Kyung-soon believes that the importance of work to make a living and the efforts to protect that work are equally important as civil movements.
Jiwoo also learns the valuable meaning of 'life' through his mother's appearance, even if it doesn't shine.
On the other hand, Jiwoo's older sister Yeonwoo, who changed her career path from dreaming of becoming a film director to preparing for the civil service exam, Yeoul, who desires stability rather than great success, and Yeoul's mother Eunhye, who considers a prestigious university and an apartment as the only standards for happiness, help to create tension and balance between the characters and give the work a three-dimensional feel.


Eun Kang-dong survived not by comparing himself to others, but by standing shoulder to shoulder with others.
Eun-gang-dong is a place where one can only survive by sharing things, whether it be sadness, joy, labor, or space.
Those who do not know poverty came up with absurd ideas like a one-room experience center.
Poverty is not a commodity that can be displayed on a shelf.
―Pages 371-372


Writer Kim Jung-mi, who has been by our side like a watchman,
Talking about hope again

"Being By Your Side" delivers a profoundly moving account of vivid historical events, from the struggles of female factory workers in the 1970s, to urban regeneration projects that reveal the true face of Korean society's treatment of the poor, to the Sewol Ferry disaster and candlelight vigils seen through the eyes of youth, transcribed in Kim Jung-mi's characteristically trustworthy voice.
This novel raises an urgent question by depicting the problem of poverty, which has remained unchanged for over 20 years since the publication of "The Children of the Magpie," and the changing nature of poverty.

Youngmin, a young man who lives next door to Jiwoo and has just finished receiving protection, is forced to explain how poor he is and how lonely he has lived in order to receive government support.
After his father, who had been holding a tent protest, passes away, Suchan, who lives alone working part-time as a deliveryman, feels distant from his peers who speak out boldly at rallies, and is hesitant to expect a bright future.
But at the same time, Kang-i becomes closer to Lan-i from Vietnam and realizes that they can communicate despite differences in language and culture, and Ji-woo also shares his feelings, remembering Suchan and Yeong-min, who were unable to hold candlelight vigils together.

"Being by Your Side" is a work that once again speaks of poverty, but also of a stronger hope.
As long as we don't give up, we still have a chance to choose hope.
Now it is the readers' turn to give this brave hope a helping hand.


“Why didn’t Mom leave?”
“I couldn’t give up.”
"what?"
“The poor have a voice.” —Page 281