“I’m going to die this Christmas.”

The coming-of-age novel "Limited Time" by new writer Baek Eun-byeol delicately depicts an adolescent on the brink of depression and wandering.
From the perspective of a 15-year-old, it exposes the reality of students choosing to take a 'voluntary time-limited leave' at the forefront of Korean schools.
According to recent statistics, suicide has been the leading cause of death among youth in South Korea for 11 consecutive years (Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, 2023 Youth Statistics).
To that extent, the keywords ‘teenage depression’ and ‘teenage suicide’ have become inseparable problems for teenagers living in the present era.
Adults dismiss it as just childish tantrums and fleeting emotions, but the depression that teenagers actually feel is deeper and more serious.

As a fellow teenager, author Baek Eun-byeol reflected the depression, confusion, and concerns about death that teenagers feel in the narratives of the characters in “Limited Time.”
By giving each of the main characters, Su-ah and her best friend, Yun-seo, as well as the people around them, their own narratives, it shows various perspectives on 'depression' and 'suicide'.
Author Baek Eun-byeol's "Limited Time", which boasted an unusually high success rate since its Wadi's crowdfunding campaign, has been loved by many young people and their guardians since its publication.
I hope that the stories of protagonists who voluntarily chose to become terminally ill amidst trauma will provide a message of comfort and hope to those contemplating death.

The reason I decided to become terminally ill for a year was not because I wanted to spend each day miserably, despairing of death. Rather, it was my own way of consoling myself by deciding to live the remaining year worthwhile and never die before that year is over.

--- From the text