Author Jeong Chan discusses his novel on the Gwangju Uprising and the 'soul of history'

Author Jeong Chan, who began his literary career in 1983, recently released his eleventh full-length novel, "The Place Where They Were." The book offers a multifaceted perspective on the Gwangju Uprising, exploring its origins, unfolding, and conclusion. In an interview, Chan shared his belief that true art moves emotions, not merely imparts knowledge, a principle he applied to his work.

Chan recounted how pivotal historical deaths profoundly influenced his perspective. The self-immolation of Seoul National University student Kim Sang-jin in 1975, protesting the Yushin regime, initially seemed like a distant event. However, four years later, the assassination of President Park Chung-hee, the architect of that regime, prompted Chan to connect these deaths, sensing an invisible thread linking them through history. This realization transformed history from a passive backdrop into a living entity for him.

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Any death is not just an individual's death. At the same time, no death remains solely an individual's death. When the duality of death, 'my death' becoming 'our death,' is superimposed into one form, those deaths become the soul of history.

He further elaborated on the significance of the May 1980 Gwangju Uprising, describing it as a period where the city was "surrounded by death." Chan posits that when individual deaths merge into a collective "our death," they become the "soul of history." This, he argues, is fundamentally different from the "soul of power." The "tremendous collision" between these two souls, he believes, drives historical change. His novels, including "The Place Where They Were," aim to illustrate this divergence, explaining why his earlier works were noted for their "rationality of ideas" at the expense of individual expression.

Chan also touched upon his earlier works, such as his fourth collection of short stories, "Dying in Venice," which he describes as his most personal. It includes stories reflecting on his childhood, a high school trip, his artistic relationship with writer Lee Deok-hee, and his early aspirations. His seventh novel, "Wanderer," explores reincarnation, inspired by Carl Jung's commentary on "The Tibetan Book of the Dead." His sole collection of essays, "Believing in the Power of Sadness," published in 2020, delves into themes of sadness as an active force for enduring life and understanding the world.

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The value of art lies not in making people know something, but in moving their emotions.