huff huff… 5
Author's Note … 252

“Cold yet warm, realistic yet romantic.

How this contradiction is possible will be revealed in the last chapter of the novel.” _Reviews

I was completely overwhelmed by this work.
I couldn't help but gape in amazement at how such a mass of emotions, which are difficult to put into words, could be expressed so accurately.
_Yoo Young-jin, children's and youth literature critic

The process by which isolated beings finally connect with each other and take root as a family is deeply moving.
The author's perspective, which follows the story to the end without making quick judgments about violence, is also trustworthy.
_Writer Jin Hyeong-min

The reason why we like a certain novel is because of the 'something' that keeps our hearts glued to it.
The images of the characters embracing the tragedy of life lingered in my mind even after I put the novel down.
_Writer Lee Seon-ju

Sentences filled with reflections on life, a tight plot and vivid details that won't leave you wondering "why?"
I applaud the author for facing a difficult story and unfolding it with honesty.
_Writer Lee Geum-i

The goodwill shown in this work was trustworthy.
In our lives, mutual recognition, small acts of concern and love for one another, can change your life and ours.
_Song Su-yeon, children's and youth literature critic

As I closed the last page, the warmth left in my hands seeped into me as the most personal comfort.
There's no need to try to be alone.
I am here, and we are here too.
_Drama "That Year, Us" by Lee Na-eun

Even in their own pain, the children show us how to save each other with a thread of love.
The warmth that reconciliation and positivity bring to one's life is incomparably warm and light.
_Kyobo Bookstore Youth MD Lee Ju-ho

Life changes depending on how we weave together the countless coincidences scattered throughout the world, and the occasional twists and turns lead us to places beyond our expectations.
"Hulhul" is a story about people who actively shape their own lives.
Looking at them, I am reaffirmed in the power of unwavering hearts and minds, and goodwill toward one another.
_Yes24 Novel/Youth MD Park Hyung-wook


“If I could just cut off the past, my tomorrow would be light.”
The 12th Munhakdongne Youth Literature Award Grand Prize Winner, "Hulhul"

Winner of the 12th Munhakdongne Youth Literature Award.
It depicts the process of eighteen-year-old Yuri, who dreams of independence and declares a break from the past, connecting with the people around her.
As we spend a season with the main character Yuri, we naturally think of a certain 'sai'.
Sitting across from each other at the table and eating Spam together.
Between checking to make sure you're dressed warmly on a cold morning.
I remember the look on the other person's face when they ate the food I cooked for the first time.
"Hulhul" reminds us that the name for those who willingly give a piece of their heart to others, whether blood-related or not, is "family."
This novel is filled with tightly packed sentences, telling the story of a heart that feels relieved by facing buried emotions and a past that has been ignored, and a heart that becomes more tender the more it connects and touches someone.

The Munhakdongne Youth Literature Award, which began with the goal of discovering reading material that can confidently be passed on to today's youth, has consistently produced award-winning works for the past 10 years.
From 『I'll Cross the World to You』 to 『Cherry Shrimp: Secret Writing』 to 『If You Fall in Love with Dokgo Som』, readers responded with explosive reactions, so the disappointment and regret of last year when there were no award-winning works must have been just as great.
The 12th award-winning work, "Hulhul," not only lives up to the two-year wait, but is also evaluated as a work that has taken the literary achievements of the Munhakdongne Youth Literature Award to another level.
One of the words that was mentioned a lot in this review was 'faith'.
“A work that builds trust in the author’s attitude toward characters and events” (Song Su-yeon), “I trust the author’s perspective on the world” (Lee Seon-ju), “The author’s perspective of not judging violence easily and following it to the end is trustworthy” (Jin Hyeong-min).
"Hulhul" is a work that deals with adoption, and is filled with scenes that examine the violence inherent in humans.
In the process of writing with material that is by no means light, the author constantly asked himself questions.
I wonder if I am consuming someone's pain, if I am objectifying them, and if I am writing a work that will deeply touch the hearts of adoptive families who have decided to spend their lives with a child.
As the reviewer said, “The author’s struggle to write from the character’s perspective as much as possible can be read throughout the work,” the author’s caution is honestly reflected in the work.
The meticulous and precise sentences that do not miss a single word of changing emotions, and the three-dimensional narrative of each persuasive character, allow us to fathom “the heart that cannot be known without experiencing it” (p. 253).
That's why the scenes where characters who claim to be isolated gradually close the distance with someone are all the more touching.
I nod in agreement that what ultimately captured the hearts of the five judges was “deep affection for humanity.”
It is a novel you can trust, a trustworthy novel.

Everyone has their own reasons for being a burger person.
There may be only one way to make your heart warm

Time to write your self-introduction at the beginning of the semester.
Seo Yu-ri faces a blank piece of paper and thinks for a moment.
What should I write and how far should I go?
Why do I live alone with my grandfather? Why aren't we related by blood? As always, there's no shortage of glass.
Even in a situation where one does not know the whereabouts of the person who adopted one and the person who gave birth to one.
Family history that is difficult to explain can be hidden, and hiding it from Yuri is all too familiar.
It's been a long time since I naturally learned when to purse my lips, when to look away, or when to change the subject.
But the shame, resentment, and anger that made her flinch did not go away no matter how hard she suppressed them, so Yuri kept repeating them.
Just two more years.
When I turn twenty, I'll shake off this house and leave.
I'll brush aside all the noisy past and never look back.
Yuri planned to live alone under the pretext of going to college.
Until I met Yeonwoo.

It all started with the sudden death of my mother, Seo Jeong-hee.
After hearing the news of the death of the person who adopted and then abandoned her, attending the funeral, and moving in with her non-blood-related younger sister Yeon-woo, Yu-ri feels a surge of emotions she had previously ignored come rushing back to her.
Among them were emotions I had never felt before.
Beginning with the beginning of a soft affection for Yeon-woo, Yu-ri's daily life is filled with worry for her grandfather, who has been distant and like a stranger, and longing for her mother, whom she has always hated.
Yuri isn't the only one facing her own transformation.
Yeon-woo and her grandfather, who had been living separately as if they had just happened to live in the same space, also begin to cautiously accept it.
The fact that the thick wall of my heart is cracking.
Without realizing it, I started expecting something from the other person.
Sometimes embarrassed by their own outbursts of anger, the three gradually become each other's natural existence.
The characters in "Hulhul" each carry a heavy burden for different reasons.
Teacher Go Hyang-suk, who suffers from rumors and faces malice and violence in the classroom, Mi-hee, who firmly stands by Yu-ri's side, and Se-yoon, who is in a similar but different situation to Yu-ri, each have their own inner stories that are difficult to fathom.
As they quietly endure their share of pain, they slowly but surely move from the realm of disconnection to the realm of connection, and the story begins to take on a warm warmth.
How much weight is enough to not be a burden to one another? Is it possible to have a relationship where we can lean on and rely on that weight? Perhaps the relationship we build together while constantly facing these concerns is a comfort in itself.
By asking questions, 『Hulhul』 seems to be saying in the end.
Even though everyone has their own reasons for being stressed, there may be only one way to lighten it.
The more hearts are connected, the lighter they become.
So, it's okay to close the distance between us enough to feel each other's warmth.


When I was writing "Hulhul," I thought about my hands.

I thought of an image of a kindly reaching out hand, a hand that pulls and pats.

I hoped that the moist, warm hands would spread like a hundred words and a thousand glances.
_From the author's note