Seoul is the sixth metropolitan economy in the world, after Tokyo, New York and Los Angeles: a megalopolis of 25 million people on the banks of the Han River, which has become the heart of one of the technological, cultural and “most advanced” economies in the world.

It is the boldest modernity transformed into a city and a nation. So much so that many people talk about a “miracle”. A marvel filled with chiaroscuro as you approach.

And the best way to understand this, interestingly enough, is to look at the last Nobel Prize winner in Literature.

“A boring woman”

“Before my wife became a vegetarian, I never thought of her as a special person.” […] If I married her, it was because not only did she not have any special charms, but she also did not seem to have any flaws. I was comforted by his sober stance, devoid of any trace of freshness, intelligence, or grace.”

This is how Han Kang’s best-known novel, ‘The Vegetarian’ begins. The story of a “normal” woman in modern-day Seoul who decides to become a vegetarian. It may seem trivial, but what’s interesting is that this small decision blows up the entire social world around it. And no, it’s not a line of conversation: without giving away too many spoilers, beyond the husband’s insults and scandals, the protagonist’s father hits her with the intention of making her eat a piece of meat.

It may seem extreme when you read it from this part of the world, but Korea can be a difficult place.

The nightmare that coexists with the miracle

Amid a brutal demographic crisis, South Korea is the OECD country with the most suicides, the highest per capita alcohol consumption and a place where 3 percent of young people live locked in their rooms.

Being a child is hard, but being a woman is much worse: statistics show us that 80% of these people have been harassed at work, and the gender gap is 32%. In terms of equal pay, Korea ranks 105th out of 146 countries. In 2019, the feminist movement called 4B hit the table and started to discuss all these issues; Han Kang wrote his book 15 years ago.

While the 4D movement is based on four basic denials (“No to heterosexual marriage, no to birth and child-rearing, no to dating men, and no to heterosexual relationships”), Yeong-hye’s denial is much more subtle: she simply refuses to eat meat. In a place where meat is more than just meat, yes.

Those little changes

Tim Crouch has a theatrical monologue; In this monologue, the hero decides to keep his right arm in the air forever during his childhood. There is no clear reason for this, and in fact it may be bad for him: but it becomes a vital purpose that changes him and everyone else forever. Crouch is in English, and although the work is very strange, we share enough cultural coordinates to understand the impact of a small (“incomprehensible”) change in the child’s social life.

To those around her, Yeong-hye’s decision is as incomprehensible as Crouch’s character. As with the arm of the game, its decision “becomes the ultimate inanimate object upon which others project their own symbols and meanings.” In fact, the results are much worse for the South Korean.

Although I must admit that when viewed from the West, the voices of the narrators of ‘The Vegetarian’ seem obvious and exaggerated, almost satirical; The truth is that this is more our problem. It is true that Han Kang draws on a certain ‘magical realism’, but there is above all ‘pure and harsh realism’ in the misogynistic views of Korean society. That’s why the book is so valuable in understanding how ghosts hide behind the glow of Seoul’s neon lights.

Image | Library Mollat/ Ann Danilina

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