Chapter 1: Longing for
Chapter 2: Hearing an Unbelievable Story
Chapter 3: Caught in the Net
Chapter 4: Lost and Wandering
Chapter 5: Seeking
Chapter 6: The Net Torn
Chapter 7: Running Away from the Point of the Sword
Chapter 8: Living

Author's Note

A warning against anthropocentrism and a story about fundamental human desires.

"Mermaid Hunting" is the third full-length novel by author Cha In-pyo, who debuted in 2009 with "Goodbye Hill" (revised edition "Someday We Look at the Same Star") and has since gone on to create his own unique path, receiving rave reviews for his work that has been hailed as an unexpected discovery in Korean literature. It is also the first work in a Korean fantasy series.
This is a story about human greed and primal desire surrounding mermaid oil, which is said to make you live a thousand years if you eat it, and it depicts an exciting and fierce battle between humans to obtain the mysterious mermaid oil.
It is a significant literary achievement in that it faithfully borrows the grammar of fantasy while not being confined to the allegories of Western fantasy, but rather infuses our country's unique Korean sentiments, thus taking the first step toward a new Korean fantasy series.


1.
Why a Mermaid Story? _A Human Story, Projected as a Mermaid

There are mermaid stories with different names and stories not only in our country but also in many countries around the world.
The Scottish mermaid was forced to live on land because she lost the skin she needed to survive in the sea.
The African mermaid, a hybrid of snake and human, ruled over the spirits of the waters.
In Brazil, there was a mermaid named Iara who lured men across the Amazon and drowned them, and in New Zealand, there was a mermaid named Marakihau who had a human head and a long dragon-like body and would destroy canoes.
The Japanese mermaid was a giant fish with a human-like face, fangs, and horns.
Besides these, there are mermaid stories of their own in places with oceans all over the world, including Ireland, Russia, France, and Norway.


Why have mermaid stories consistently captured the attention of people across borders and races, and why have they become so frequently featured in human narratives? Perhaps it's because humans have always needed them.
To survive in the overwhelming nature, humans must have created stories.
We would have to create an object onto which to project our fear and awe of the sea, thus guarding against fear.
In this way, mermaids came to exist in each era and region with different statuses and identities.
They were once spirits that tempted sailors like sirens, then became terrifying sea monsters, then became water nymphs that protected ships during storms, and were sometimes considered small creatures like sardines or mackerel.

“Among the countless mermaids, the one that captured my heart was the crying mermaid in ‘Eouyadam’ written by Yu Mong-in, a scholar-official of the Joseon Dynasty.
It is said that a mermaid caught by a Joseon fisherman cried white tears like rain.
Why did she cry? Perhaps she missed someone? Reading this one sentence, which emphasizes inner self over actions, I felt compassion for the mermaid.
For me, the feeling of compassion means that it is worth writing about.
It gave me a reason to embark on the long journey of writing a novel, which may take months or years.
And at the end of this long journey, the mermaid brought me before a mirror and made me look closely at my desires.” (From the author’s words)

2.
The symbol of life and destruction represented by mermaids and sea lions

In "Mermaid Hunt," the author's previous works contain reflections on the respect for life and human nature.
Furthermore, it approaches more closely the fundamental desires of humans and warns against human-centrism, which seeks to do everything according to human will despite the need to live in harmony with nature.
A representative example is the narrative about the extinction of the Dokdo River that appears at the beginning of the play, leaving a strong impression.
Even when humans hunt mermaids purely for their own needs, as they did to Kangchi, the selfishness and cruelty of humans are on full display.


Dokdo was a sea lion paradise where approximately 50,000 sea lions along the East Sea stopped to rest.
Until just a few years ago, fishermen could reach out and pet the sea lions of Dokdo, which did not run away when approached by boat.
...
But humans did not want to wait even for a single moment.
Present plunder was more important than future growth.
He had to have everything in his generation.
As a result, humans destroyed everything they could before they even realized how much nature contained.
Kangchi was no exception.
Within a few years, the Dokdo sea lions became extinct.
(Page 22)

The sharp tip of the spear pierced the shadow's waist.
Red blood spurted out and spread out in concentric circles across the water.
Mr. Bae hit the shadow's back with a stick with a hook attached to it.
It was an extension used to catch tuna from the sea.
Since it was not enough to drag him out alone, Mr. Cho and Mr. Sim also rushed in and the three of them pulled the stick together.
...
Mr. Jeon, who was very angry, limped towards Abi Mermaid, holding a club as thick as a mortar and pestle, and struck the back of her head.
Creak.
The mermaid with a broken head stopped struggling and stretched out like a dead octopus.
(Pages 115-116)

Such atrocities sometimes bring about regret, and the characters shed tears inwardly and repent, or show embarrassment to each other, but even so, even after countless hours have passed, they do not hesitate to commit atrocities again when faced with similar situations.
As times change, only the people, situations, and methods change, but humans, we make the same choices and move toward the same sins.


Meanwhile, Deokmu's wife, Lady Im, plays an important role in the narrative.
Although she is depicted as having died suddenly in the drama, Lady Im, the wife who exists in Yeong-sil and Deok-mu's memories, is not just a dead person.
Perhaps, the author can be seen as conveying the message he wants to convey through Mr. Lim in a raw and vivid manner.
The person who most actively accepts Mr. Im's wishes is his daughter, Yeongsil.
Even at a young age, his strong character, which respects nature and life and rejects killing and mermaid oil, is likely due to the teachings he received through life and conversations with his mother during his childhood.
We can feel the universally accepted truth and good courage that Yeongsil possesses, as seen in her actions of supporting her father and younger brother, and showing kindness and naming the captured mermaid siblings, even though she herself needs care.
If one of the characteristics of fantasy novels is the clear confrontation between good and evil, then in this work, Yeongsil stands on the side of good and shows the righteous heart and faith of humanity.


“Youngsil, trees do not harm other living things in order to survive.
Live your life in the land you were born in and never return to the land again.
When the wind blows, it stands in the wind until it passes, and when snow falls, it remains on the branches until it melts.
“A tree silently endures the passage of time in the place where it was born, and lives out its given role.” (Page 14)

“Youngsil, mermaids aren’t meant to be eaten.”
“Why can’t I eat it?”
“Because nature did not permit it.”
“What does nature allow?”
“These are natural things.
“I’m talking about things that are natural and follow the natural order.”
“Things that are natural and obvious? For example?”
“For example, when the wind blows, the clouds move, and when the sun rises, it becomes morning.
A single seed grows into a beautiful tree, and birds rest on its branches.
Flowers bloom, fall, and bloom again in season.
It will bloom again in a hundred years unless someone breaks it on purpose.
“Now you tell me.” (p. 135)

“Father, how many times do I have to tell you before you realize? Gasp, gasp, how many times do I have to regret it before you turn back? Jjire and Jjang-ah are like Nana and Yeong-deuk.
I mean, siblings without a mother.
They say they don't cry because there is no mother to listen to them.
Gasp, gasp, so let's just let it go now.
At least these guys will live.
“Please leave me alone, don’t make me suffer so that I can live.”... “Father, what could be more miserable than this? Both you and my father are truly pitiful.
"You're going to eat that child, even though he looks like a human, eats like a human, and speaks like a human? Do you really have to go that far to survive? Is it okay for a human to do whatever they want to survive?" (pp. 192-193)

3.
Mermaid Oil, Another Name for Salvation_Into the Pole

Here, there are those who need mermaid oil.


Fisherman Park Deok-mu.
He has neither a glorious past nor a guaranteed future.
He is just a poor fisherman who diligently fills each day.
For him, life is just a peaceful and cozy place to sleep with his wife, Lady Im, and his siblings, Yeong-sil and Yeong-deuk, under the same blanket.
Misfortune struck him, as his wife, Lady Im, suddenly died, and even Yeong-sil, who had been acting as a mother to young Yeong-deuk, fell ill with a fatal illness, losing all hope of living.
Then, Mr. Gong comes to him and puts the mermaid oil into Yeongsil's mouth. This is the only way and reason for him to get his life back on track.


Gong Inspiration.
He was attacked by a shark near Heukamdo Island and barely survived.
However, contrary to the doctor's words that the wound was so severe that he would soon die, he showed amazing resilience and disappeared as time passed.
He appears in front of Deokmu and feeds Yeongsil the last remaining drop of mermaid oil, then makes Deokmu a dangerous offer.
He is in desperate need of mermaid oil, having lost an arm and a leg to a shark attack and is now in poor health.

Yeongsil.
After losing her mother at a young age, she lives a difficult life taking care of her father and younger brother Yeongdeuk.
Although I lived a poor and shabby life, I never forgot the teachings my mother gave me about the preciousness of life and nature, and about living a natural life.
It is very painful to see him become terminally ill and his father transform into a puppet for Gong Yeong-gang to obtain mermaid oil.


arcade.
A great cold has come and frozen everything, causing famine and starvation, and people are always hungry.
In a cave in a coastal rock cliff, he accidentally encounters a young mermaid who will change his entire life.
The villagers all want mermaid oil for their own reasons, and are forced to become guides on a mermaid hunt, which puts them in great distress.
How can I monopolize the mermaid without revealing her location?


Mr. Cho.
The need for mermaid oil became even more desperate when his only son, Jo-seok, went out to find a mermaid and fell off a cliff, becoming paralyzed from the waist down.
When Gongrang does not easily reveal the mermaid's location, he becomes obsessed with the mermaid and resorts to violence.
He instigates the villagers who treat him like a slave, instigates a mermaid hunt, and threatens Gongrang, finally leading to the mermaid hunt...


So everyone needs mermaid oil.
Everyone has their own circumstances and they are desperate.
Mermaid oil is not just the meaning of immortality itself, but rather something like a savior that will save my miserable life.
If only I could eat this, if only I had this, if only this could be solved...
All humans are born with fundamental problems, limitations, and various difficulties that they cannot solve.
Maybe mermaid oil wasn't just for them in the old days.
In modern society, mermaid oil is a powerful need for me, whether it be money, fame, health, or something else.
I keep wanting to eat it, have it, and look for it again.
In the end, the line between what I want and what my thoughts want will become ambiguous.


Now the author asks:

“Here is some mermaid oil that will give you eternal life if you eat it.
Would you like to eat?

It's your turn to find the answer.