Forest Garden
Cave of Stories
When I wake up
Mr. Jun-oh, the brocade carp

Author's Note

The respect for life that is deeply embedded in the story,
And reveal our true face hidden behind it!

This book consists of four short stories.
“Forest Garden” depicts the fate of a chicken that plays a game of death every day in a restaurant deep in the forest; “Cave of Stories” is the story of people who go to the cave of time in search of a clock that tells the time limit of their remaining life and never return; “When I Wake Up” contains the sadness of a person who is in a confusing situation where he or she constantly travels back and forth between childhood and the present but cannot control his or her life; “Mr. Jun-oh the Koi” is the story of a fish that is as intelligent as humans and is able to distinguish right from wrong but is helplessly pushed around by ruthless forces, etc.
The author draws material for his stories from the various moments in life that we inadvertently encounter as we go through life, breathes life into them, and then, in pursuit of 'truth,' constantly poses philosophical questions about 'existence.'


"The Garden in the Forest" begins with me and my grandfather searching for a restaurant in the forest.
Upon arriving at the restaurant, the old man does not order food and heads straight to the chicken coop at the back of the restaurant.
Then he stands blankly in front of the chicken coop and asks me this.

“Have you ever picked up something on the street?”

Eventually, the grandfather tells the story of a box of chicks he found by chance on the road.
He couldn't just pass by the boxes of chicks that had fallen from the truck on the way to the chicken farm, so he put them in the trunk of his car and took them to a restaurant run by his uncle.
There, about 350 chicks grow up and become chickens.


The restaurant, which originally sold pork ribs, began to gradually introduce chicken dishes to its customers, and soon changed its name to a restaurant specializing in native chicken.
Grandpa goes to that restaurant
Every time I see the chickens playing a game of death with their owner, I feel a complex emotion.
What does life and death mean to chickens who fight every day?

"The Cave of Stories" opens with dozens of people searching for the story god's house on a hill.
The story god creates stories with the words that people order, and then takes them out after they have been cooked to their satisfaction.
The words ordered this time are ‘cave’ and ‘time’!

The Himalayas, the highest place in the world, are so cold that all the peaks are covered in snow and ice.
On one of those many peaks is a giant ice cave called the 'Cave of Time', and inside that ice cave are numerous clocks.
Each clock is engraved with a person's name, and the hands begin to move from the moment a baby is born.


People, in their desire to find their own clock and turn back the hands, go to the cave of time without exception… … .
Will he be able to find his watch and return safely? (There is one more story in this chapter.
Please check the book yourself.^^)

In "When I Wake Up," on a rainy day, Jeong-ah suddenly becomes worried about her mother and goes out the front door with an umbrella.
Mom hasn't been home for months now.
I sit at the bus stop and wait for my mom to come.
Several buses pass by, but Mom never gets off.

Then, a photo studio across the street catches my eye.
Jeong-ah suddenly feels like taking a picture.
The photographer, who was preparing to leave work, willingly takes a picture of Jeong-ah.
After that, I returned home and fell asleep. When I woke up again, I felt a presence and went out to the front door.


The grandfather wearing a bowler hat looks at Jeong-ah with a smile.
Jeong-ah tilts her head as she tries to open the door for her grandfather.


“Your grandfather passed away last year.
“Grandpa, is this a dream?”

When Jeong-ah asks, her grandfather smiles and nods.
What time is Jeong-ah living in now?

"Mr. Jun-oh the Koi" is a story about a koi that lives in a pond in a park called "Green Tree."
As someone who works in the park management department, I am literally in charge of managing the park.
Green Tree is facing increasing difficulties in operating and is being forced to reduce its staff.
The night before I quit Green Tree, I went to feed the fish in the pond and heard a strange noise.


"hey!"

I was so surprised that I was speechless when I realized that it was the sound of a koi fish.
The koi not only knows how to speak human language, but also has a keen understanding of the park's situation, and proposes a koi show to attract an audience.
Deep in my heart, I am filled with respect, so I speak politely to the koi.
Then, after successfully completing the koi show, he goes to bed dreaming of becoming the person in charge of the pond… … .
The world is not that easy.
The next day, we are faced with an unimaginable sight.
No matter how smart you are, are you helpless in the face of an irresistible force?

Again, the era of stories begins!
A philosophical fairy tale by Han Yun-seop that connects thoughts through interesting stories.

In this way, in “Garden in the Forest,” four stories follow each other in an exciting way.
As you turn the pages of the book and get to the heart of the story, you will find yourself completely immersed in the story and forget about your own existence.
At the end of the story, a surprising twist awaits, like the last runner in a relay race winning unexpectedly.
Finally, he sweeps his chest with both hands and swallows his breath, unconsciously wanting to hear the next story.
This is the power of the story that author Han Yun-seop tells.


Critic Kim Ji-eun says this:


The author, who had longed for the freedom of animals in "Harriet," questions the realistic possibility of that freedom in "The Forest Garden."
In "The Boy Who Delivered the Letter," he showed us that the ending we want is not the only one that awaits us, and in "Mr. Jun-oh, the Silk Carp," he makes us look back once again at the behavior of humans toward non-humans.
As you read "When I Wake Up," you experience the story turning inside out, different times coming together in one space.
"The Cave of Stories" is a fairy tale that, as the title suggests, is like a self-introduction of the story itself, telling us what the charm of the story itself is.


《Garden in the Forest》 talks about the 'life' we easily encounter around us and its dignity.
It awakens us to the 'life' that permeates things that we might easily pass by without noticing, and makes us stop and look back without even realizing it.
At the same time, it makes us reflect on ourselves through the selfish and cruel behavior of humans in the face of such fragile life.

Moreover, readers who have experienced the thrill of the story through this book will look at things they had previously overlooked in a new light and imagine how the story will continue next.
This is the virtue of Han Yun-seop's fairy tales.
As always, it doesn't easily grant hope, but it allows us to face the harsh reality head on and take a firm step forward.
It is said that by making people imagine for themselves, they are stimulating and awakening their thinking power.