Novelist Park Sang-woo Releases New Full-Length Novel 'Unmyeong Game' After 4 Years

Novelist Park Sang-woo [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Novelist Park Sang-woo (62) has published his new full-length novel "Unmyeong Game (Fate Game)" (2 volumes, Haenaem) after four years.

Park Sang-woo has continuously created stories in new styles. In this work, he presents a story in a unique genre.

The publisher Haenaem described "Unmyeong Game" as "a complex genre work that blends mainstream novel, SF, and fantasy, unfolding philosophical themes such as 'human,' 'soul,' and 'free will' through cosmic imagination with a fast-paced narrative."

In "Unmyeong Game," the realms where the protagonist Ibori appears and the realm of the writer 'I' who writes a novel with Ibori as the protagonist are alternately presented.

'I' considers himself the creator of Ibori and believes he is Ibori's higher self. However, Ibori connects to 'I' through communication meditation and denies 'I's thought that he is his higher self. The novel is written differently from 'I's intention, and 'I' suspects that his novel might be written according to the intention of a higher self rather than himself, and attempts to connect with the higher self through meditation.

[Photo by Haenaem]

The novel shows a structure where selves existing in different layers of realms are organically connected and communicate with each other. Through this, it addresses philosophical questions such as whether humans live by free will or can be free from a given fate.

In the 'Author's Note,' Park Sang-woo stated, "I wanted to write a novel that provides an opportunity for people in the world to think once about the origin of 'I,' the origin of humans and life, and the origin of the Earth and the universe."

Park Sang-woo debuted in 1988 when his mid-length novel "The Light That Does Not Fade" won the Munye Joongang New Writer's Award. In 1999, he received the 23rd Yi Sang Literary Award for his mid-length novel "The Rooftop Room of My Heart." He has also won the Dongni Literary Award (2009) and the Lee Byeong-ju International Literary Award (2019).

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