Dong-ho

The author’s epilogue tells us that Dong-ho’s character is based off of real person. His mother describes him as a happy and gentle child. In Kang’s epilogue, she also describes his photo as gentle and meek. In 1980, at the time of the Gwangju uprising, he was in his third year of middle school. While he was young, frail, and smaller than most kids his age, he was also stubborn and determined. His strong friendship with Jeong-dae ultimately led him to offer to help out tending to the corpses in the Provincial Office. His sense of comradery to stay with the older boys in the militia the night of the uprising ultimately cost him his life. His death was not only evidence of the army’s unfathomable cruelty, but also struck a personal note with the author, since he and his family moved into Kang’s...