LTI Korea 
DLKL 
SIWF 
To Detective Kim Who Is Humane, Too Humane scrap
by Hwang Ji-woo
March 21, 2018
Author Bio 작가 소개
Hwang Ji-woo
Detective Kim and I can talk frankly now. My wife also finds “something humane” in him-he buys toys for our children, she serves him coffee-though at first she was wary of him. He even bows to my old mother. Probably because of his humanity, we seldom discuss politics. But once I praised Bulam Choi’s performance in The First Republic.
Performance? Are we not also performing roles, Sir? He seems happy to be called “Sir.” Because he laughs so hard, I laugh with him and answer his question about how I’m doing. He wonders how I can live on so little. I answer him. He asks about my health. I answer him. He tells me his own history, though I have never asked about it.
He descends from landlords in the Hwanghae province of North Korea. In his youth he saw family members taken away by men from the Ministry of Home Affairs, he knows how terrible man can be. He crossed the 38th parallel, led a harsh life, enlisted in the marines, dedicated himself to his profession. He told me why people loathe him when he visits their homes. He laughs a lot; he has good manners; sometimes he even seems to have compassion for things. I told him he’s always welcome. He invited me to enjoy a cup of Soju with him someday, though he also lives on a meager salary. After he left, I stopped mulling over our “performances.”
Even Birds Leave the World (White Pine Press, 2005), p. 18.
Trans. Won-Chung Kim & Christopher Merrill
Copyright © 2005 by Ji-Woo Hwang.
Translation copyright © 2005 by Won-Chung Kim & Christopher Merrill.
Reprinted with permission from White Pine Press.
Photo © NOH Suntag, Namildang Design Olympic II #BJE2902, 2009
Writer 필자 소개
Hwang Ji-woo
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