Human Acts

We stand with Dong-ho, the novel’s young protagonist, in an afterlife space. Rows of coffins recall the temporary enshrinement of the victims in Sang-mu Gymnasium. In front of him hangs the portrait of an anonymous soldier—perhaps the one who fired, or the one who gave the order. The fragmented former Provincial Hall symbolizes fractured memories of that day, still inhabited by the spirits of those who defended it. Light entering through slits and openings represents the wounds inflicted on citizens by bullets and blades. Above, inverted, lies today’s Gwang-ju—rebuilt and peaceful, yet still coexisting with the hidden presence of perpetrators.