little snowman
A fine of ten thousand won
On the way to commit suicide
friend
Life Advice
Introverted Hong
Museum of Life
My first fishing trip
The Court of the Universe
Her lucky day, kind
The son of a grave robber
Where should I send my grandmother?
If you do good things, everything will come back to you.
A man living in the moment
stupid devil
A decided letter
The size of revenge
The greatest achievement of my life
When do humans believe in God?
The world beyond the curtain
At the border of family and dreams
Angel's Disguise
Who put money on my head?
To those who are difficult to comfort
His biography
Author's Note

“This book is a collection of writings I wrote in pursuit of my love for humanity.”

Twenty-Five Knocks to the Goodness Within Humanity
Yet, the footsteps of stories that willingly lean toward hope

◇ “People are the scariest thing?”
Kim Dong-sik's first happy-ending short story collection, shifting his focus from "fear" to "hope."

As is widely known, the author first published the novel on an online community called 'Horror Bulletin Board'.
The thing I focused on in order to write a story that fits the name of the bulletin board was the fact that 'people are the scariest.'
Naturally, the most common themes in the thousand or so novels were the darker side of human nature, such as murder, infatuation, betrayal, kidnapping, fraud, jealousy, and greed, and many of the stories ended up with endings that matched those themes.


In that respect, 『The Museum of Life』 is unusual.
Because the endings of all twenty-five stories in the book stand on the opposite side.
This collection of short stories was published as a result of the author's confession that "these are the writings I wrote in pursuit of loving humanity," and that he sought to listen to the goodness within humanity.
It is no exaggeration to say that this is the first collection of happy ending novels that shifts the focus from the keyword "fear," which was the catalyst for the author's first steps as a novelist, to "hope."
In other words, this book is a collection of short stories that asks the question, “Are people the scariest thing?” twenty-five times.


◇ Nevertheless, “I like humans”
- How does hope blossom in a terrifying reality?

However, it is not full of stories that only bring smiles.
As a novelist who deeply examines the myriad aspects of worldly affairs and portrays the complexities of human nature, the protagonists are still greedy, unhappy, desperate, and face sad situations.
The protagonist loses his motivation to live and goes to commit suicide (On the Way to Suicide, Angel Disguise), goes to a class reunion to borrow 100,000 won because he doesn't have enough money for his child's food (10,000 won fine), and suffers from a desire for revenge (The Size of Revenge, When Do Humans Believe in God).
Some people write online to seek comfort (for those who find it difficult to find comfort).


And that's not all.
A young man who has lived as a reclusive loner for a long time (The World Beyond the Curtain), a fisherman who is desperate to catch a fish alone (His first fishing experience), and a single mother who takes care of her sick mother alone (Hong-i, an introvert).
There are also those who wander without knowing the value of their parents' existence (Life's Greatest Achievement, On the Boundary Between Family and Dreams, A Letter of Decision).
Also, there is not a single person who is leading a peaceful daily life, such as a bride (friend) who feels guilty and suffers from a friend who cut off contact the day before the wedding, an old man who begs to be sent to hell to see his daughter who committed suicide (Where should I send my grandmother?), an old man who committed a serious crime and is facing a heavy sentence (The Court of the Universe), and a middle-aged man who doesn't even have money to pay rent this month (Who put money on my head?).


How can a story so realistic and realistically realistically portray a story with such a humane ending? That's precisely what makes this book so enjoyable and relatable.
Because it is a hope that goes beyond vague positivity and instead embraces the premise of “reality is like this, but despite all that,” it becomes a more persuasive narrative for readers, and, as the author hopes, it also becomes a point where readers can say, “I like humans.”


◇ Under no circumstances should a person be forced to die.
A collection of heartwarming stories created by ordinary people.

When life gets tough, people want heroes.
I want someone capable to come forward and solve the problem and defeat the villain.
Unfortunately, there are no such heroes in this collection of short stories.
Instead, there are ordinary people.
A classmate who gives financial help in a way that his friend wouldn't be embarrassed by, middle-aged women who give Choco Pies and umbrellas to a young man who looks a bit uneasy, men in a tavern who put their heads together to come up with a famous saying for a father to tell his son, people who work overtime to save an elderly person in trouble, a husband who gives up his career to have children to make clear to his children the value of his wife, a convenience store worker who gives kind customers a chance to win gift certificates - they are all ordinary people we see all around us.


It's been said that life is difficult in any era, but pandemics and wars have brought even greater and more diverse hardships and difficulties to ordinary people around the world.
The difficulties and hardships are strikingly similar to the situations of the protagonists in this collection of novels.
Even in times like these, if people can ultimately hold onto hope, it is said to be thanks to the good heart that resides within ordinary people.
Because of this good heart, I hope that many readers will find comfort and a sense of security in life through this happy ending novel collection that says, “There is no law that says people should die.”


Author's Note

In the past, the reason I explored humans was to write articles suitable for the horror bulletin board.
I believed in the saying that people are the scariest thing, and I worked hard to figure out how to reveal the dark side of humanity.
This time it's the opposite.
This book is a collection of writings I wrote in pursuit of my love for humanity.
Actually, I like humans.
So this book is also good.
I'm happy to be able to publish a book I like.
If I may be a little greedy, I hope readers like this book too.
I carefully hope that while reading, readers' hearts will be moved even a little, and that they will feel the same emotions as I did while writing.