At Dusk by Hwang Sok-yong

At Dusk with Bukhansan View at the Background

Park Minwoo is, by every measure, a success story. Born into poverty in a miserable neighborhood of Seoul, he has ridden the wave of development in a rapidly modernizing society. Now the director of a large architectural firm, his hard work, and ambition have brought him triumph and satisfaction. But when his company is investigated for corruption, he’s forced to reconsider his role in the transformation of his country.

At the same time, he receives an unexpected message from an old friend, Cha Soona, a woman that he had once loved, and then betrayed. As memories return unbidden, Minwoo recalls a world he thought had been left behind―a world he now understands that he has helped to destroy.

From one of Korea's most renowned and respected authors, At Dusk is a gentle yet urgent tale about the things, and the people, that we abandon in our never-ending quest to move forward.

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Title: At Dusk

Author: Hwang Sok-Yong

Published year: 2018

Original Language: Korean

Translated by: Sora Kim-Russel

Pages: 188

Genre: Humaniora

I just started to read it last night and finished 2 chapters before went to sleep. Awoke this morning, I finished the rest chapters just before lunchtime. It is quite a prompt read for me, for a book with a hefty theme. Now, I feel melancholy as ever after finished it. 

At Dusk is a story about a man in his late 60's that reflects on his past after a series of events crossed in his life. Park Minwoo is a successful businessman, he started his own career from scratch. 

Born in a poor family, he spent some years of his childhood in Yeongsan, a small city in between Busan and Daegu. Yeongsan used to be a battle area during the Korean war. His father is a low-rank clerk in the administration office, his salary barely enough to provide them a decent meal every day. He used to live in a shabby house that almost the end of the road to the hill. He has a neighbor almost at his age, Byeonggu. 

Not long, Minwoo family move to a slum area in Seoul. Origin from a rural area, Minwoo understands that life in the city is tough. He must take care of his own life and stand up for himself whenever a threat comes from his surroundings. Thus the principle of life has brought Minwoo to acquaintance with Jaemyung, Jaesup, and Jjaekan- siblings that acknowledged as the toughest people in the neighborhood.

Jaemyung is the second brother, meanwhile, Jaesup is the first and Jjaekan is the third. Jaesup is an ex-con, so he can come and go from the family as he pleased. Jaemyung is the brightest and wisest act as the head of the family.

The siblings have several stalls to provide shoe-polishing service just near to the theatre. Life in the street is tough, even shoes-polishing business is a fighting territory in the neighborhood.

All the boys in the neighborhood are school drop-outs, except for Minwoo and Cha Soona- a daughter of noodles shop. 

Every boy in the neighborhood fell in love with the beautiful Cha Soona, including Minwoo. They secretly share a trip to the library together but act like not knowing in each other back to their home.

But Minwoo is determined that he want to get out of that slump area and the one thing that he can do is study hard. He entered the most prestigious college in Korea and slowly Cha Soona is no longer exists in his chapter of life.

His pivotal moment is when he became a tutor to an affluent family in Seoul. Befriended with his student, Minwoo gained trust from a General Family. Minwoo also applies a scholarship to continue his studies in the US and got awarded.

Right before he departed to the US, he met with Cha Soona, drinking together and bid a silent goodbye.

His past life won't be flashbacked if it is not because of a small note from a stranger, written contact of Cha Soona and her phone number.

Meanwhile, in the present, Minwoo must deal with his dying friend and the corruption allegation to his friend, Byoenggu that leads him to an ultimate question. Who are him?

How much he changed, how his lift turned out, how lonely he is. 

Reading this book is like watching a Korean Movie with the slow-paced plot but beautifully describe the detail of human minds that transcend into who they are now. 

Even Minwoo's character here is not a melancholy type, instead, he is the pragmatist one but the ambiance like setting the whole movement in the dusk. From the insomniac convenience store-keeper to the nocturnal minds that wander questioning a life. 

What I love the most from this book is how detail the Author telling about the poor neighborhood, the Flour campaign, the sacred rice and a lot of traditional customs so the reader truly can understand the circumstances, as well as look it by our eyes like in the movie.

Yes, it brings about the socio-culture theme, juxtaposing about the rich and poor in one big masterpiece just like the famous Oscar-winning- Parasite. But the message that emphasized is different. It is not about the awareness of the poor that unbenefited every day but how can a human transform into Someone.

Coming from the same neighbor not always bring the same outcome. What Park Minwoo, Cha Soona, Byeonggu chose in every phase of their life, bring a different shape of life. I am not talking about happiness. 

The seat we sit today is because of the tiny of millions of decisions we took throughout our life.

The privileged one and the poor one can be everyone they chose in this life. Whether we regret or satisfied with it.

Park Minwoo is one of the many portraits of Korean society in their generation. They bornt poor but crawling their way to a successful life. It was started with graduation from college, making their way to the United States, come back to Korea and work in a big company. But not for long, they will start their own business and make a success from it.

Park Minwoo is one of the baby boomer generations that makes the Korean economy exponentially growing.  Their determination to free from poverty is one of the strong characters that make other generations envy them, at least that what happen in Korea. 

Well, yes it is a very wise read but not the one like a motivational book. It is beautifully written! Even from the title, it was well chosen.

I am highly recommending this book to everyone who wants to fall in love with Asian Literature