The Old Town
Summary
A tragedy born from tiny evils
hidden within ordinary people
Mudong, the backgroung of the novel, is a suburban agricultural district on the outskirts of a satellite city. It is a place where the people who are pushed to the margins of urban life — displaced redevelopment victims, the unemployed, and others cast aside by the city — gradually gather and settle. Here, myth, fantasy, and reality blur and intertwine, much like Macondo, the fabled town in Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude.
In Mudong, unforeseen coincidences and intertwined fates reveal the twists and turns of its inhabitants’ lives.
A fire and a murder — both erupting at the same time!
The residents of Mudong are caught in the heart of the whirlwind...
The story centers on the Kyung-soo family but branches out in multiple directions. After repeated failures in small businesses and being chased by loan sharks, the Kyung-soo family drifts into Mudong as fugitives. Alongside them are Rock’n’Roll Go, Mudong’s first resident who rents a greenhouse as both studio and lodging; Tomato Moon, who married Rock’n’Roll Go, bore twelve sons, and became the largest landowner in Mudong; Marie, who inadvertently gets entangled in a case because of the village men’s ulterior motives; Mingu, who barely survives hardship before joining Rock’n’Roll Go’s band as an accordion player; Inho’s father, who moved to Mudong hoping to profit from redevelopment but instead faces decline; and Inho himself, who meets and falls for Suji, the daughter of a gamjatang (pork bone stew) restaurant owner, after meeting at a bathhouse scrubbing academy.
The stories of these diverse characters cross paths, intertwine, and collide as each follows their own path. The mysterious and suspicious incidents that arise in the gaps between them lead to an unpredictable climax, driving readers to the very end of the narrative.
hidden within ordinary people
Mudong, the backgroung of the novel, is a suburban agricultural district on the outskirts of a satellite city. It is a place where the people who are pushed to the margins of urban life — displaced redevelopment victims, the unemployed, and others cast aside by the city — gradually gather and settle. Here, myth, fantasy, and reality blur and intertwine, much like Macondo, the fabled town in Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude.
In Mudong, unforeseen coincidences and intertwined fates reveal the twists and turns of its inhabitants’ lives.
A fire and a murder — both erupting at the same time!
The residents of Mudong are caught in the heart of the whirlwind...
The story centers on the Kyung-soo family but branches out in multiple directions. After repeated failures in small businesses and being chased by loan sharks, the Kyung-soo family drifts into Mudong as fugitives. Alongside them are Rock’n’Roll Go, Mudong’s first resident who rents a greenhouse as both studio and lodging; Tomato Moon, who married Rock’n’Roll Go, bore twelve sons, and became the largest landowner in Mudong; Marie, who inadvertently gets entangled in a case because of the village men’s ulterior motives; Mingu, who barely survives hardship before joining Rock’n’Roll Go’s band as an accordion player; Inho’s father, who moved to Mudong hoping to profit from redevelopment but instead faces decline; and Inho himself, who meets and falls for Suji, the daughter of a gamjatang (pork bone stew) restaurant owner, after meeting at a bathhouse scrubbing academy.
The stories of these diverse characters cross paths, intertwine, and collide as each follows their own path. The mysterious and suspicious incidents that arise in the gaps between them lead to an unpredictable climax, driving readers to the very end of the narrative.
Company Profile
Other
Jaeum&Moeum Publishing Co., Ltd.
In 1997, Jaeum and Moeum Co., Ltd. was established under the slogan of collecting all the “letters” (Jaeum) and “sounds”(Moeum) of the world. It operates a number of imprint brands, including EZ Book, a children’s/adolescent book brand, and Neo Fiction, a genre literature book brand, and has become a mainstay of the Korean publishing industry by launching over 10,000 volumes.
Jaeum and Moeum have published literary magazines that support Korean literature, novels that have been recognized for their excellence at home and abroad, humanities books that will raise the status of culture to the next level, youth literature and humanities/study books that propel teenagers’ mental development, and practical books that provide useful tips for everyday life.
The books of Jaeum and Moeum are attracting the attention of not only overseas publishing agencies but also external production companies that produce secondary creative works such as movies, dramas, plays, and musicals. Several books, including A Killer’s Shopping List, A Killer’s Shopping Mall, A Christmas Carol, and The Time-Selling Store, have been adapted into new forms, and many other works are ready to be transformed in similar ways.
In addition, we are running a New Literature Award/Youth Literature Award/Short Novel Award/Fairy Tale Contest on a scale that is one of the largest among Korean publishing companies. As many authors who debuted through the Jaeum and Moeum Literary Contest have grown into spotlight writers in the literary world, the Jaeum and Moeum Literary Contest has become the publishing industry’s most notable gateway to new writers. Through this active collaboration between publisher, author, and reader, several series of books were born that have made their mark in the publishing industry.
Jaeum and Moeum have published literary magazines that support Korean literature, novels that have been recognized for their excellence at home and abroad, humanities books that will raise the status of culture to the next level, youth literature and humanities/study books that propel teenagers’ mental development, and practical books that provide useful tips for everyday life.
The books of Jaeum and Moeum are attracting the attention of not only overseas publishing agencies but also external production companies that produce secondary creative works such as movies, dramas, plays, and musicals. Several books, including A Killer’s Shopping List, A Killer’s Shopping Mall, A Christmas Carol, and The Time-Selling Store, have been adapted into new forms, and many other works are ready to be transformed in similar ways.
In addition, we are running a New Literature Award/Youth Literature Award/Short Novel Award/Fairy Tale Contest on a scale that is one of the largest among Korean publishing companies. As many authors who debuted through the Jaeum and Moeum Literary Contest have grown into spotlight writers in the literary world, the Jaeum and Moeum Literary Contest has become the publishing industry’s most notable gateway to new writers. Through this active collaboration between publisher, author, and reader, several series of books were born that have made their mark in the publishing industry.
