[Bbanggubneun Tajagi] Bright Night

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] In the darkest moments of life, there are people who shine by your side. The precious hearts of others that cover the cruelty of life cannot be fully expressed by words like ‘gwiin’ (benefactor) or ‘eunin’ (patron). Choi Eun-young’s “Bright Night,” published after three years, tells the story of how protagonists living devastated lives due to war, poverty, divorce, and the death of a spouse find the courage to live again through some kind of strength.

The 32-year-old protagonist Ji-yeon packs up her life in Seoul and suddenly leaves for a city called Huiryeong. About a month after ending her marriage due to her husband’s affair, she sees a job posting for a researcher at the Huiryeong Observatory and decides to move there almost as if running away. Huiryeong, a small coastal city, is a strange place for her, having only visited once when she was ten years old to visit her grandmother’s house.

One weekend, while continuing a ghostlike life in Huiryeong with no sign of improvement, Ji-yeon unexpectedly meets her maternal grandmother, whom she has not seen for over twenty years. This encounter leads Ji-yeon to visit her grandmother’s house, where, in a cautious yet warm atmosphere, she talks with her grandmother and receives a photograph.

In the photo, two women wearing white jeogori and black skirts smile, and one of them bears an astonishing resemblance to Ji-yeon. Her grandmother points to that woman and says she is her mother.

She then begins to tell the story of Ji-yeon’s great-grandmother, who was born as the daughter of a butcher in Samcheon, Hwanghae Province, and lived a persecuted life, how she happened to meet Ji-yeon’s great-grandfather, a commoner’s child, and what kind of life she lived to eventually come to Huiryeong.

Starting from this, “Bright Night” unfolds by alternating between the present-day story of Ji-yeon continuing her new life in Huiryeong and the past stories she hears from her grandmother. It is a narrative that threads nearly a hundred years from the 1930s, beginning with her great-grandmother’s story, to the present Ji-yeon.

The deep friendship among women is portrayed across time, with the most poignant thread being the friendship between Ji-yeon’s great-grandmother, who was born as the daughter of a butcher and welcomed by no one, and Aunt Saebi. This deeply touches readers’ hearts.

On a refugee path with nowhere to go, giving birth to a child without anyone to care for her, and in moments when they want to give up everything, their friendship becomes a supportive rock for each other. This friendship transcends the 1930s and resonates strongly with people living today, prompting reflection on what truly gives people the strength to live again.

Ji-yeon’s healing journey, in a relationship that is close yet distant with her grandmother whom she meets after twenty years, forms another thread of friendship. Ji-yeon, who was festering with inner wounds not understood even by her parents or spouse, escapes the endless quagmire of her heart through her grandmother’s calm consolation and gradually embarks on the path to recovery.

After all these stories, Choi Eun-young wrote in the author’s note:

“The past two years have been the most difficult time I have spent since becoming an adult. For half of that time, I could not write, and during the other half, I wrote ‘Bright Night.’ During that period, I felt like I was not a person, like a water balloon that could burst with a slight touch. Writing this novel was the process of regaining my body and heart and becoming a person again.”

Readers of this book will also be able to feel the healing power within the flow of stories where people embrace one another.

(Bright Night / Choi Eun-young / Munhakdongne / 14,500 KRW)