The tvN TV drama “Argon,”

The OCN TV drama “The Lies Within,” with Anti-human Declaration as the original work,

and the movie “Christmas Carol,” inspired by Christmas Carol –

all based on works written by Joo Won-gyu, being re-created into films and TV dramas!

This time, turning his gaze to Gangnam, South Korea –

aimed at uncovering the dark sides of our history

The author Joo Won-gyu has been working on bringing the dark side of our society to the surface through his works such as A Cruel History of an Outsider Race and Anti-human Declaration. Made in Gangnam is set against the backdrop of Gangnam, a city that is home to all the capital and desires of Korean society. By depicting people who wander across the city like zombies, caught in a trap of desires they cannot escape from, the book tells the story of “where Korea is today.” As the author says, “Gangnam is also where their own iron-clad league is firmly established, and where the slaves of capitalism born from mammonism gather, caught up in a strange love-hate relationship and longing.” The book depicts the scenes in Gangnam in glamorous but dark colors, filled with desires and pariah capitalism. 

The hideous secret hidden behind ten dead bodies

found in the penthouse of a high-rise hotel in Gangnam!

Stories of those who live in the glamorous splendors of Gangnam

as heartless, despicable beings

A murder has been committed in the penthouse of a high-rise hotel in the heart of Gangnam. Naked men and women, all without even a single piece of underwear, are found lying in a jumble on the marble floor, sporadically splattered with drops of blood as if in a pointillist painting. They are the members of a secret organization consisting of the so-called top 0.1 percent of Koreans – and among them is the famous idol singer, “Monkey.” The first ones to arrive at the gruesome scene of the murder are not the police but “Attorney Kim Min-gyu,” a lawyer at Korea’s No. 1 law firm whose job is to dig through the blind spots of the law and design cases involving the top 0.1 percent royal families to their liking. He does not offer opinions or judgments, and remains colorless and insensitive to any unethical behavior – Kim Min-gyu is the perfect architect for those who have the actual reins to rule Korea.

Cho Jae-myeong, a homicide detective at the Gangnam Police Station, gambles with the slush fund intricately associated with the police, which leads him to accumulate huge debts. But one day, he is given a chance to rise back from the corners he was forced into. His wolf-like instincts tell him that the penthouse murder in Gangnam is being engineered by an architect, and he goes to visit Kim Min-gyu. When Jae-myeong realizes that there are huge capitalist forces behind the gruesome murders, he is overcome with a greater desire as he works with Kim Min-gyu, the architect. However, he is killed by Gangnam's top predator, Uhm Cheol-woo, nicknamed the "King of the Black Dogs.” Possessing exceptional knife skills, Uhm is a pimp at a place called Gangnam Ten Club.

In the meantime, “Min-gyu,” the top architect who has been engineering the murder case, begins to wonder when this kind of emotionless and rational world has formed inside of him. He is deeply ashamed when he realizes that he, too, is no different from those who flocked over to Gangnam for a chance to enter high society. He also feels devasted in the face of Gangnam’s extremely hypocritical way of survival, which is disguised as extreme glamour and sophistication. However, Min-gyu cannot leave Gangnam despite his disillusionment. Jeong Hye-ju, the woman that the deceased singer Monkey was in love with, asks Min-gyu why we would not leave Gangnam. Min-gyu is unable to say anything in return – he just gets ready to welcome his wife, who has reached out to him for the first time in six months.

Joo Won-gyu made his debut with A Cruel History of an Outsider Race in 2009, which won the Hankyoreh Literary Award. His full-length novels include Invincible Bad Baseball Team, Survival of a Helpless Boy, The World Beyond, Door of Memory, A Christmas Carol, Made in Gangnam, Persons Subject to Special Management, To People Who Don’t Know Me, Seocho-dong League, and Naked Body. He co-wrote the tvN TV drama “Argon,” and worked on the dramatization of his novel Anti-human Declaration into the OCN TV drama “The Lies Within,” as well as the film “Christmas Carol,” based on Joo’s work of the same title.