Human Acts by Han Kang and Deborah Smith

From the internationally bestselling author of The Vegetarian, a “rare and astonishing” (The Observer) portrait of political unrest and the universal struggle for justice. In the midst of a violent student uprising in South Korea, a young boy named Dong-ho is shockingly killed. The story of this tragic episode unfolds in a sequence of interconnected chapters as the victims and the bereaved encounter suppression, denial, and the echoing agony of the massacre. From Dong-ho’s best friend who meets his own fateful end; to an editor struggling against censorship; to a prisoner and a factory worker, each suffering from traumatic memories; and to Dong-ho's own grief-stricken mother; and through their collective heartbreak and acts of hope is the tale of a brutalized people in search of a voice. An award-winning, controversial bestseller, Human Acts is a timeless, pointillist portrait of an historic event with reverberations still being felt today, by turns tracing the harsh reality of oppression and the resounding, extraordinary poetry of humanity. Shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award Amazon, 100 Best Books of 2017 The Atlantic, “The Best Books We Read in 2017” San Francisco Chronicle, “Best of 2017: 100 Recommended Books” NPR Book Concierge, 2017’s Great Reads Library Journal, “Best Books of 2017” Huffington Post, “Best Fiction Books of 2017” Medium, Kong Tsung-gan’s “Best Human Rights Books of 2017”

Very difficult book to read about first hand accounts of the Gwangju Uprising, and fight for civil rights in South Korea. Five stars, very well written and translated about such difficult subject matter - a book I will continue to remember, and revealing about history I have known little.

Got to 70% and gave up :( if you're reading this, don't be discourage at giving it a go. It was my first Korean book in translation and so I wasn't sure what to expect. The writing is poetic and beautiful at times but overall the subject matter was just a little too depressing for me personally and the unfamiliar narration style made it hard to get drawn into the narrative. However happy that I gave it a good shot

Until late December 1977, I was a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching English at Chonbuk University in Jeonju City, the capital of North Jeolla Province of South Korea. I was there for two years and it was a tense time politically, both internally and because of the ongoing conflict with North Korea. While Jeonju City was fairly calm–it's an agricultural province known for its great food–the neighboring province, South Jeolla, was a hotbed of anti-government activity. Tensions weren't unknown in Jeonju, though. I remember that one of my students stopped showing up to classes. When I asked where he was, the students wouldn't tell me, but I eventually learned that he'd been arrested for demonstrating against the government.

Just a year and a half after I left Korea, the ruthless President, Park Chung-hee, was assassinated. In 1979-80, demonstrations against the government and the newly installed President Chun grew, especially in Gwangju, the capital of South Jeolla. In May, the demonstrations were brutally quelled and an unknown number of people were killed by the military. (Officially, the number is under 200 dead; unofficially the number is between one and two thousand.)

The Gwangju Uprising is the subject of this book, which is told in stark and gruesome detail. It is shocking because while the dramatization is imagined by the author, the story is true. It's told from a variety of points of view, mostly focused on a middle-school boy, Dong-ho, who participates in the demonstrations and later is remembered by various survivors and witnesses.

It's not an easy book to read, but it's an important one. Never again. We hope.