★ Jo Su-kyung‘s debut full-length novel, confronting the euthanasia controversy head-on: Through the issue of euthanasia, the novel reflects deeply on what a truly comfortable life means. Through the stories of characters whose lives are difficult to restore due to mental illness, it explores the idea that what we seek should not merely be death as an end to suffering, but a path toward a better life.

★ Featuring a protagonist with depression, writing the true condition of mental illness: The protagonist, Seo-woo, has long shut herself away, struggling with depression, and her mental suffering has robbed her of the ability to speak. Ultimately, she applies to enter a centre that provides euthanasia services… A character in the book says: “Depression is not a crime. You did nothing wrong. Did we kill anyone? Did we commit fraud? No. We are simply sick in the mind. An illness of the mind is the same as an illness of the body.” These words strike precisely at the social stigma surrounding mental illness, generating broad resonance.

★ Filled with memorable lines that profoundly question the meaning of life: “I thought the light had completely vanished, but a faint glow slowly came back. I thought it would be eternal darkness—it was only a total solar eclipse. As long as breath remains, as long as life remains, the light will never fully go out.” “What sustains us is not what we call hope. It is like some kind of knot that cannot be seen clearly, like the umbilical cord connecting mother and foetus… Even after repeated betrayals, this thread is hard to sever, holding us tightly.” The book is full of such lines, with a reader rating as high as 9.3.

“May everyone live as themselves, love in their own way, and calmly prepare for their own ending. Life is precious, but for some, a peaceful death is also necessary. No one can casually judge another’s life—there are always some for whom death is the best choice.” — From the Author (excerpt)

Even so, if someone wants to loosen the rope of life, I will still hold their hand tightly.

Thinking about death has always been a way of thinking about living.
This is novelist Jo Su-kyung‘s debut full-length novel. Her short story collection Everything Has Broken wrote about people enduring their own private hells; this novel focuses on those who are compelled to choose death.

The dignified death bill has been in effect in Korea for a full year after a long controversy, yet the right of an individual to decide their own death remains a burning issue. If a person could choose death autonomously, how would life change? The book is set in a near-future Korea where euthanasia has been legalised.

The protagonist, Seo-woo, has long shut herself away, struggling with depression, and her mental suffering has robbed her of the ability to speak. Ultimately, she applies to enter a centre that provides euthanasia services… Through the issue of euthanasia, the novel reflects deeply on what a truly comfortable life means. Through the stories of characters whose lives are difficult to restore due to mental illness, it explores the idea that what we seek should not merely be death as an end to suffering, but a path toward a better life.

Jo Su-kyung

Novelist and freediving enthusiast. Made her literary debut in 2013 through the Seoul Shinmun New Year Literary Contest.

Short story collection: Everything Has Broken
Novels: Whenever I See the Morning, I Think of You, After They Disappeared, A Night in Málaga

Personal wishes: to travel to Africa to participate in wildlife conservation and live out her life in nature; realistically, she hopes to become an old woman who faithfully volunteers at a community animal rescue centre. Most importantly, she hopes to keep writing until the very last moment of her life.