"A unique story about having to live to die!" _Cheon Seon-ran (novelist)

Opening a new horizon for Korean science fiction literature
A new novel by director Kim Young-tak of "Gomtang"

Netflix drama "DP" strongly recommended by director Han Jun-hee

“I want to commit suicide, even by cloning someone like me.
“You were born again, I feel so bad for you!”

In an age where everyone is isolated and dreams of suicide,
A bizarre mystery road movie about finding the value of life.

Director Kim Young-tak, who captivated 500,000 readers with his first full-length novel, Gomtang, has released his new work, Yeong-su and 0-su. This full-length novel features the motifs of "cloned humans" and "selling memories." It is a work with an interesting setting and powerful immersion, just like his previous work, which opened a new horizon for Korean science fiction literature.
Director Kim Young-tak, who has won awards at prestigious film festivals both domestically and internationally for [Hello Ghost] and [Slow Video], has created a touching and intellectually well-woven story with [Young-soo and 0-soo] that will sometimes make you laugh and sometimes make you shed tears, but also forces you to ask questions about the essence of humanity and life.

In the future era where 『Yeongsu and 0su』 unfolds, artificial intelligence has already completely transformed the structure of human labor, residence, and relationships.
In this dystopian world where the joys of life are so universally minimized that the government must strictly control suicide, four characters, including 'Young-soo' and '0-soo', board a train together.
Even though they are all wearing the same protective gear as the entire nation due to the virus, these people with different life histories and personalities travel together for about two months in search of 'the memories they sold' that may save them all for different reasons.
This bizarre journey takes the form of a full-blown mystery, taking us step by step toward an event shrouded in secrecy.
While ultimately questioning the meaning of human existence, 『Young-soo and 0-soo』 never loses its sense of humor or tension. It is another piece of science fiction literature that this era will remember.

A novel with three-dimensional characters and tense events is both exciting and scary because you have to see it through to the end the moment you start reading, and this novel is like that.
Like a movie theater where you can only leave after seeing the end, the first line of the novel leads me to the end.
The somewhat absurd incident of having to save my clone, who was created to die, eventually leads to a tearful narrative of my struggle to save myself.
I just hope that many readers will witness this unique story of having to live in order to die.
_Cheon Seon-ran (novelist)

What makes a good story? I always answer, "characters."
No matter how great a plot is, it is meaningless if the characters are not alive.
What surprised me most while reading 『Youngsu and 0su』 was the vividness of these two characters.
Through these two characters, the author creates special moments from everyday life that we easily overlook.
Be sure to feel the resonance brought about by the encounter between these two beings as depicted by the author.
_Han Jun-hee (film director)

Youngsu worked in the editorial team.
The video Youngsoo was watching now was someone's memory.
Youngsoo was still new, so he wasn't doing the main editing.
When the main editor edited and handed it over, I checked to see if the buyer's desired requirements were well reflected in the edited memory and if there were any outliers, and made corrections.
For example, the things Youngsu mostly heard from his boss were like this.
“This is going to be given to a preschooler, so I need to make sure the cigarettes are properly removed.
“They told me to exchange cigarettes for candy, but I can’t even do that properly. Why?”
“No, don’t make a V with this finger either.
Who won? You have to catch the candy, not stick it between your fingers!”
“I told you to change the background.
"It's the same Gangwon Province, but the customer lives in Pyeongchang, not Gangneung. The sea is all mountains! Okay?"
“I know the connection might be lost, but please just cut this scene out.
The customer doesn't like it.
"Youngsoo, why are you so obsessed with probability? Why are you so obsessed with probability when even dramas don't even consider it?"
--- pp.17-18

“So, you want me to buy a clone and have him live in my place, and then I die?”
Yeongsu asked back after hearing Ohhan's suggestion, and Ohhan nodded.
"What a brilliant idea! Senior, why did you show up now?"
Yeongsu wanted to shout like this, but he answered calmly.
“Of course, even if I wanted to die no matter how much I wanted to, and couldn’t because of my family’s opinion, I’m not crazy. Would I buy that expensive clone just to commit suicide?”
“I’m telling you this because you seem desperate, Youngsu.
“It seems like he wants to die every day, but I don’t think he’s a person who would die shamelessly, so I’m telling you this because I feel sorry for him.”
“…….”
“If you can’t die like that and just keep living like that, that’s fine.”
--- p.23

“I will help you somehow to continue living, so go ahead and do it.
Suicide prevention.
When I said, “This is my job,” the clone, who was like, “If you do it your way, then you will do it for me too,” started sobbing.
He spoke to me while crying.
“Poor thing.
“I feel so bad for you because you were born again by cloning someone like me.”
So my existence suddenly became pitiful.
“Shall I turn on some music?” I asked, and you nodded.
'Okay, let's listen to some music.
I feel embarrassed because your sobbing voice is my voice.'
--- p.51

“Don’t be lonely.
You can meet anyone.
“Then I’ll feel even lonelier.”
Those desperate words of advice were actually a soliloquy.
That's what I was saying to myself.
Since you even know that kind of thing, you are definitely my clone.
But what was different? Why did you want to die the moment you were born? What was missing?
'Is there something I have and you don't?'
--- p.62

“Back in the old days, before we had to wear these protective suits, before these crappy times came, we used to travel a lot.
“At home and abroad.”
“Oh, please verify your age properly.”
“Do you know why traveling is good?”
“It’s a trip, so it’s good, right? Are there any bad trips?”
“The reason why traveling is good is because it allows you to be a bystander in life.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Are we the masters of our own lives?”
“Ugh, that sounds like an old fart.”
“Can we be guests in our own lives? Can we be bystanders in our own lives?
Can we just sit back and watch our lives unfold?
No, right? But when you travel, you become a guest in other people's lives and get to see their lives.
It's okay to just stand by and watch.
Because it's a travel destination, because it's someone else's life.
So, when you travel, you can relieve yourself of the burden of having to be the master of your life and the subject of your life, and take a step back to leisurely observe and enjoy life.
That's the only moment in life when you can be a bystander.
That's why traveling is good."
--- pp.100-101

“You know there might be edits, right?”
I said this too, I'm the editor.
Of course, the big events will be similar, but the details can change as you edit.
The weather, age, gender, occupation, and even face can change.
Just as cigarettes have turned into candy, don't you know?
“What can’t be changed are the atmosphere of that time, the emotions of that moment, things like that.”
Kim Daul's memories are clearly Yeongsu's memories edited by Oh Han himself, but
“No one knows exactly what your original memories were like.”
--- p.181

As I edited intense moments of other people every day, even though I didn't even appear in them, Gohan remembered things he had given up on in the past.
Movies, dreams.
He wanted to make his own film, but ended up editing other people's memories.
I was always trying to make a living, and I gave up too many things too easily because I was always obsessed with making a living.
Later on, I didn't even know what I had given up.
That damn living thing.
'I'm living my life editing other people's memories.'
So, what Oh Han wanted to say to Young Soo, even while putting forward his bullshit philosophy, was,
'Come to think of it, I don't remember selling two of your valuables, that's what I'm saying.'
'I really worked hard, didn't I?'
--- p.184

“There are people I hate so much I want to kill them.
“How do you want to get revenge?”
“…….”
“You’re going to kill me and go to jail for the rest of your life? There’s no need for that.
Just write down the memories of the murder.
All you have to do is buy the memory of the murder and implant it in that person.
Then that person will suffer from terrible guilt for the rest of his life.”
“……Who does something like that?”
“Things that have a lot of money and a lot of people who hate them?”

--- p.233