[Lee Jong-gil's Autumn Return] Hatred and Despair, Lost Reason... That Place Is Hell

Yeon Sang-ho and Choi Gyu-seok's Collaborative Comic 'Hell'
Instills Fear by Revealing Time of Death
Similar to Previous Animation 'Saeibi'
Exposes Conflict, Anxiety, and Uncompromising Social Reality

Youth are having a conversation in a coffee shop. The topic is a notice predicting death. They check Chairman Jeong Jin-su of the New Truth Society’s lecture on their smartphones.

"The notice is implemented indiscriminately without any prior warning. The content is simple. The recipient’s name, the fact that they are going to hell, and the remaining time. (...) At the scheduled time, wherever the recipient is and whatever they are doing, the demonstration of hell is executed…."

The youths laugh it off. They mockingly claim the evidence video is fabricated. A man in his 40s overhearing the conversation behind them becomes restless. He sweats coldly and keeps checking the time.

2 p.m. Footsteps are heard outside. The man’s face turns pale. He senses an ominous presence behind him. Monsters called 'Messengers of Hell' by people. They smash the glass window into pieces and enter. They brutally beat the man. His struggles to escape are futile. With monstrous strength capable of tearing his body apart, they burn him to death.

Chairman Jeong Jin-su claims that those who receive the notice are sinners. He explains that humans denied the intention to sin and forgot shame, guilt, atonement, and repentance, which led to divine intervention. "God is showing us the image of hell very directly. God’s intention is clear. You must be more just."

Everyone dies. But no one knows when or how. The comic 'Hell,' co-created by Yeon Sang-ho and Choi Gyu-seok, tells the anxiety of our society through the premise of knowing that time in advance. It is about extreme exclusivism and dogmatism.

Those sentenced are stigmatized as sinners. Their identities are exposed on TV, the internet, causing severe suffering. People demand repentance but fear that they themselves might receive the notice. They experience hell amid hatred and despair.

The catalyst for chaos in 'Hell' is religion. Chairman Jeong Jin-su and the New Truth Society secure the legitimacy of their faith by asserting that only sinners receive the notice. This is similar to how cult leaders distort and exaggerate specific incidents to make them persuasive. Even the technique of making people believe absurd stories with a gentle tone.

Detective Jin Kyung-hoon, obsessed with catching the culprit, is the exact opposite. He investigates the case with rational and moderate thinking. However, due to his rugged appearance and a past of losing his wife, he is always viewed with suspicion.

Yeon, the author, showed a similar structure in the animated film 'Savage' (2013). Choi Kyung-seok (voiced by Kwon Hae-hyo), wanted for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, visits a village about to be submerged and introduces himself as an elder. He declares he will save the residents with Pastor Seong Cheol-woo (voiced by Oh Jung-se), who has a kind appearance.

"Do you suddenly know why this village is going underwater in the reservoir? Why? It is because the devils are afraid that the people gathered in heaven will scatter. So the pastor is showing the power of God. He turned ordinary water into the water of life. Aren’t there people here who have already experienced miracles of healing with that water of life?"

Pastor Seong Cheol-woo participates in the fraudulent act at the chapel. He performs a miracle where a person who cannot walk straightens their knees with a chant. The residents are amazed by the fabricated grace and shed tears. Suddenly, Kim Min-cheol (voiced by Yang Ik-june) appears and shouts loudly.

"Damn you crazy bastards. Hey, you con artist bastard. You came here to do this crazy shit. Hey, you people. What are you doing losing your minds over this crazy scam?"

Kim Min-cheol has a rough face and wild behavior. He steals his daughter Young-seon’s (voiced by Park Hee-bon) college tuition and wastes it on gambling. He frequently resorts to physical violence, making him a pariah among the residents. But as he claims, the neighbors were being scammed. Kim Min-cheol shows Choi Kyung-seok’s wanted poster and shouts for them to wake up. The residents all shake their heads.

"I’ve never seen this face before. There’s no one like this in our church." "You crazy bastards. The whole group has lost their minds. Crazy bastards." "That guy must be possessed by a devil. Calling sane people crazy. Damn bastard."

'Hell' is almost an extended version of 'Savage.' The New Truth Society plunges society into chaos through people’s anxious psychology, just like Choi Kyung-seok. The notice presented as evidence is similar to the fraudulent act of making a disabled actor stand up. Whether it is real or not does not matter. The core is creating fear by attributing meaning unrelated to common accidents, disasters, or deaths.

A society easily shaken reflects real conflicts and anxieties. Most are trapped in fear, emptiness, and loneliness but show no will to resolve it. They do not consider others’ understanding or circumstances. They believe their perspective is absolutely right and emotionally reject even legitimate claims. Yet they desperately wish to approach peace and joy. Just like the residents in 'Savage' who only hope to reach heaven while watching their village about to be submerged.

The nature of hell presented in 'Hell' and 'Savage' is ultimately the same. It is a world created by people. Cult religions still relentlessly exploit that gap. They inject a sense of chosenness with fluent speech and isolate people from society to pursue only their identity.

Faith hardened in this way rarely compromises with society. This is not a trait unique to cult religions. Recently, Korean society is suffering from severe polarization. The mindset that if you do not support, you are an enemy is widespread. The middle ground, gradually disappearing due to continuous discord and conflict. 'Hell' seems to ask in that narrow gap, "Are we living in a rational society?"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.