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Struggling with Faith and Love: Blue, High Ladder by Gong Ji-Young scrap
by Choi Jaebong
October 27, 2014
Author Bio 작가 소개
Gong Ji-Young
Blue, High Ladder is the newly released novel by popular Korean writer, Gong Ji-Young, published four years after she released The Crucible (2009). The Crucible deals with the horrible sexual assault of mentally disabled young students committed by their teachers, and the conspiracy and solidarity of a self-serving group to conceal their crime. The Crucible was made into a film and caused quite a stir in Korean society.
The main character in Blue, High Ladder is Jung Yohan, a y oung Catholic monk who has finished theological school and lives in a monastery. Jung begins questioning and experiencing internal conflicts when his soul is stirred by the appearance of an attractive woman, Sohee. His fellow monk, who espouses and applies religion in social situations, influences him with numerous ideas about the fundamental goal of religion in relation to current Korean society.
Through Yohan’s struggle between religion and earthly love, the author deals with weighty topics, including religion and reality, death and redemption. As Yohan repeatedly experiences death and loss, which are difficult for him to understand, he often raises the question “Why, Lord?” In the story, the suggested answer to this question is, “Love means to love even that which does not reciprocate!” This nihilistic answer is Gong Ji-Young’s own voice, a result of her long-standing humanistic and religious conflicts from having returned to her Catholic roots. 
Writer 필자 소개
Choi Jaebong
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