[People Met Through Books] "Wandering 90 Countries Experiencing Five Senses... I Wanted to Write 'Travel Fiction'"

Traveled to Over 90 Countries, Stayed More Than a Month in 40
Pursuing Singleness and Freedom to Roam the World
Quit Sports Marketing Company 4 Years Ago to Focus on Writing
"I Want to Be a Writer Who Delivers Popular and Easy Fun"

Choi Beom-seok (56), the author of ‘International Detective K: The Two Faces of the Moon’ (Jidoneun Yeohaeng), is a ‘Wanderlust.’ Just like the German meaning of the word, he has spent his entire life pursuing freedom and traveling around the world. Following his diplomat father, he spent his middle school years in Germany and other countries, and attended high school in the United States. He majored in International Politics, Economics, and German Literature at the University of California, Berkeley, and earned master’s degrees from Seoul National University and Harvard University. He has traveled to over 90 countries, staying more than a month in 40 of them. Since his school days, he took on various part-time jobs and set off on world travels whenever he had enough money. Considering the relative standards of wealth that change with desire, he confesses that he has always been ‘rich.’ As he says, he truly wandered the world to his heart’s content and enjoyed freedom. Knowing the weight of freedom, he has lived a lifelong single life to avoid becoming an irresponsible husband or father. With that will for freedom, he has now challenged himself as a novelist. Although he has published essays such as ‘Wanderlust, the Name of Eternal Freedom’ and ‘My Island in Seoul, Haksodo,’ this is his first novel. In an omnibus format, he unfolds stories felt through his five senses while wandering the world. His studio is his hometown house near Inwangsan Mountain in Seoul, where he has lived since birth. We met Choi Beom-seok, who returned after 13 years with the travel novel disguised as a detective story, ‘International Detective K: The Two Faces of the Moon.’

Artist Choi Beom-seok

- How have you been lately?

▲ I worked in sports marketing for decades, including the 2002 World Cup Organizing Committee. Four years ago, I closed the sports marketing company I had run for 20 years and started writing seriously. I wanted to write since I was young, but doing groundwork took decades. Then I felt I needed a turning point, so I deliberately picked up the pen, but strangely, I couldn’t write a single word. I think I was burnt out, so I spent six months fishing for bass alone. I started writing this year, working 15 hours a day. I wrote a 500-page first draft in four weeks. After a month’s break, I edited and finished it in two months. I didn’t decide on a conclusion and wrote joyfully as the words came.

- You published your first novel, ‘International Detective K: The Two Faces of the Moon,’ in an omnibus format. What inspired you to write it?

▲ Looking back, I published essays roughly every ten years. But I thought adding imagination to essays based on facts would make them more interesting. I felt I could richly describe the unique material I gained from long stays abroad. I wanted to express intriguing content in an entertaining way.

- The protagonist detective’s stories take place all over the world. Why did you choose detective fiction?

▲ Like Paul Auster’s ‘New York Trilogy,’ I wanted to write a new travel novel centered on detective stories. In the West, there is a long-standing literary genre called ‘travel fiction.’ Homer’s ‘Odyssey,’ considered the first Western novel, is actually a travel novel. Thinking about it, past works before the division of Korea, like ‘Yeolha Ilgi,’ had a grand scale. In contrast, modern literature feels limited in setting. I wanted to write stories about places I have visited with the world as the backdrop. I introduced a detective as an element of fun, but it’s closer to a travel novel than a detective story. There are no sensational tricks or dramatic ups and downs. It simply depicts friendship, love, and life unfolding in new spaces beyond Korea. It might taste bland like Pyongyang cold noodles. (laughs)

- The protagonist’s name is often written in alphabets, while supporting characters have local names. Is there a special reason for this?

▲ Since it’s a travel novel, I intended to highlight the local supporting characters. I also didn’t want to limit the protagonist’s nationality. Once you name a character, you confine them to that frame. The protagonist could be Korean or German. It was an attempt to express my love for the global village in my own way through the genre of the novel.

- Did you face any difficulties while writing?

▲ As I mentioned earlier, it was difficult to settle on the genre of travel fiction. I struggled to find my own style, and as a result, I shaped a structure that is neither a detective novel nor a romance but a travel novel.

- The phrase ‘The Two Faces of the Moon’ in the title seems to reflect Mark Twain’s saying that “like the moon, it has a dark side it never shows to others.”

▲ Everyone living on this planet has both good and evil sides. I chose a detective as the protagonist to deal with such duality. Although people seem to live harmoniously, I wanted to emphasize that in reality, people live with two faces.

- The phrase “Freedom is burdensome or stable life is mundane” appears. Most people probably live their daily lives somewhere in between. How about you?

▲ My first essay published in 1999 was titled ‘Wanderlust, the Name of Eternal Freedom.’ Freedom was the theme. Looking back, I have truly lived for freedom. Since college, I have seriously contemplated and pursued freedom. I have traveled to over 90 countries, staying more than a month in about 40. I have never married, fearing that freedom might be hindered and that I might become irresponsible to family. I want to live my whole life using ‘Haksodo’ as a base camp, but reality probably won’t allow it. The surroundings are already fully developed. Like in the novel ‘The Dwarf’s Little Ball Shot Up,’ I feel a day will come when bulldozers push me out. If that really happens, I plan to go abroad and wander here and there. This has been my dream since my twenties. I intended to stay with my parents briefly and experience social life, but my thirties and forties have already flown by. Now, I want to roam the world again.

- Is the weight of freedom burdensome? Your feelings about freedom as a child and now must be different.

▲ Freedom comes with heavy responsibility. Since you cannot have everything, I have given up a lot, including marriage and many social benefits. There is a cost to bear to enjoy freedom. Some see the choice of freedom as selfish, but if one is fully aware of the responsibility, it is good selfishness (individualism). However, nowadays, society seems to overlook responsibility in freedom. If you demand freedom but reject responsibility, someone else must pay the price. It is also very important to be prepared to bear the loneliness that shadows freedom.

- How do you cope with loneliness?

▲ Solitude is the shadow of freedom. It inevitably follows. You have to train yourself so it doesn’t become painful. You need to recognize it as a price you must pay. Loneliness can be physical or mental; I tend to relieve mental loneliness through reading. Living in ‘Haksodo’ and encountering plants has also helped a lot. The world of plants is vast. If you don’t know, they’re just ‘weeds,’ but knowing the names of surrounding plants enriches life. Fishing is similar. You catch and release. It’s a push-and-pull with nature, and it’s incredibly enjoyable. It can be a mountain or a new challenge. Recently, I established a one-person publishing company. For this book, I learned programs like InDesign and handled all processes myself.

- Why did you establish a one-person publishing company?

▲ A book is like my child. You have to dress it in fitting clothes, and the author knows best how to do that. I established it to enjoy that privilege. The brain you use when writing and when making a book is different. I worked very happily.

- What does a novel mean to you? How do you want it to reach readers?

▲ A novel should be fun and easy to read. Although evaluations may vary, I want to publish a book that many readers will read to the last page. I don’t expect flattering reviews from critics. I believe the cartel of critics is over. Now, readers and the internet share reviews in real time. I want to be a writer who delivers popular and easy enjoyment.

- Are you preparing a follow-up work?

▲ I am currently revisiting a novel I started writing 28 years ago when I took a leave from Harvard Graduate School and stayed six months at Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris. It’s a first full-length novel of 450 pages about Harvard graduate students’ stories set around the world. There were almost no parts to revise. Only outdated elements like payphones and answering machines were updated to fit the current era. It should be published within this year. I plan to steadily release two to three books a year. I am also preparing a detective story series.

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