A portrait of 'tomorrow' and a memory of 'yesterday'
A middle-aged man faces the weight of life after a failed business venture.

I started working as a first-generation men's shoe designer in my 20s.
In his 30s, he rose through the ranks to become the head of the design department of several shoe brands.
I dreamed of brilliant success and a bright future in Seongsu-dong, the 'handmade shoe street'.
In my 40s, I opened a small handmade shoe factory.
I dreamed of a simple life where I could live happily with my family, earning money by doing what I was good at and what I liked.
But with the decline of the handmade shoe industry, his dream also crumbled.


When I entered my fifties, my business failed and the factory closed.
I felt like a 'sinner' to my family and useless to society.
Even though I was confident that I could still do the job I had been doing for 30 years, there was no place that would call me.
He sent out hundreds of resumes, but the only ones calling him were for day labor in logistics.


Middle age doesn't come suddenly.
It is a portrait of the 'tomorrow' that youth will face, and a memory of 'yesterday' that old age has passed.
It is a time that everyone must face after passing through the brilliant and intense youth.
In an aging society where life expectancy exceeds 100, for middle-aged people who have more days left to live than they have already lived, 'tomorrow' is no longer a hope but an anxiety.
The deep wrinkles on my forehead are the marks of the monthly loan repayment date, the feather-light bank balance, and the sleepless nights that come and go.
The pain of frozen shoulder that weighs on the shoulder is proportional to the weight of responsibility that has piled up.
I want to take another step forward with courage…
Is all that awaits us but deep darkness?

The day I go to 'KURPANG'
The conveyor belt never stops

Conveyor belts symbolize factories and warehouses that run without rest.
In the 'KURPANG' warehouse, where it seems like everything in the world is available, he endures the emptiness and sense of loss, and moves his body to the speed of the conveyor belt again today.
The conveyor belt, which leaves no room to even catch one's breath, resembles time.
Just keep moving forward without stopping.
You can't expect kindness like stopping and waiting for a moment.
Like delivery boxes helplessly moving forward on a conveyor belt, we too have flowed here, surrendering ourselves to the flow of time.


From the moment his business fails, a 'black shadow' follows him.
The author expressed the dark emotions that reside in the hearts of people who have experienced failure and loss as 'black shadows.'
A black shadow in the shape of a 'devil' torments, taunts, and tempts the man.
But he never gives up.
Even in the deepest darkness, we find a light of hope, and at the end of despair, we gain the courage to live again.
So, even though my whole body aches from the unfamiliar physical labor, I board the shuttle bus to the logistics warehouse again today.


《The Day I Go》 is a work filled with empathy and comfort for middle-aged people of this era.
We support everyone who is trying to rebuild their lives and restore their self-esteem, which has been shattered by business failure or retirement.


Each and every stitch was carefully drawn by the hands of a craftsman who made handmade shoes.
A desperate, chilling, and sad self-portrait

Author Kim Hyung-gyu's first book is the illustrated essay "There Are Shoes in Hot Seongsu-dong."
At the time he was drawing the 101 shoe illustrations in this book, the author was the owner of a handmade shoe factory and a shoe designer.
When we submitted the text and illustrations we had completed over several years to publishers, we were first amazed by the powerful illustrations, and then again by the fact that they had been created with thousands or tens of thousands of mouse clicks in an illustration program.
I immediately contacted the author and headed to Seongsu-dong.
The day after we visited with the contract, the writer cleaned up the factory.


When we were working together on “There Are Shoes in Hot Seongsu-dong,” the author shyly handed me a dummy manuscript of “The Day I Go.”
The moment I saw that pile, I was speechless for a while.
This is because the ‘time after failure’ was fully captured in the splendid colors, strong expressions, and dazzling patterns.
It was a desperate, eerie, and sad self-portrait drawn by a craftsman who made handmade shoes.
At that time, I couldn't control my heavy heart and there were words I couldn't bring myself to say.
I really want to tell writer Kim Hyung-gyu right now that I am grateful for giving me the courage to live again.

- Hwang Jeong-im, publisher of 'Dalgeum'

Author's Note

I didn't know this when I was working and running a small business.
But when I started applying for jobs again and started sending out resumes, I realized my age.
I'm confident that I can do the job I've been doing better than anyone else, but the only jobs I'm given are logistics centers and security.
It's not that I look down on these things or don't value them.
However, I wanted to show in the picture the fear of doing something for the first time and the trembling in an unfamiliar environment.