“Where are you? In this world, or outside it?”

There’s no better way to describe it than the cliché “two-thumbs up.” – Yu Minhwan, Munhwa Ilbo

Included in Everything but the Giraffe, “Our Dear Jeong Guibo” won the 2014 Kim Yujeong Literary Award. Most of the other works have been nominated for prominent literary awards in recent years.

The characters in Lee’s novels appear to be found anywhere, but are nowhere to be found. 1 out of 7.244 billion. Every day 300,000 people are born and 170,000 die. Living is being 1 out of the remaining 130,000. It’s as simple as following the meandering path of life – being born, meeting, loving, parting, and dying. The realization that “most of our lives are made of repetitive and mechanical activities” and the fact that “it applies to everyone equally” gives us a bizarre sense of security. However, the life that is quantified by probability and numbers, unfortunately, fails to explain my life. If everyone is the same as me, why do I feel so lonely?

Lee fills the void between the statistical values with memories. The moments that cannot be quantified, therefore, make an ordinary life into an authentic one. Ordinary individuals become witnesses to each other’s lives. In other words, what makes Jeong Guibo (1972-2013) special isn’t where he was born, how he was raised, or when he died, but the memories of the people who established relationships with him.

In Everything but the Giraffe, people roam about their lives and reflect on their memories of those who were with them—wishing that others who are listening to their life stories will become unofficial witnesses to their lives. The author gives names to the people who are like us but can never be identical to us.