[Baking Typewriter] Questioning Humanity at the End of Life

DALL·E 3

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"Dying was no easier than living. Time, leisure, money, and even hope-none were in abundance. When every passing moment is filled with pain, how many people could truly endure and wait?"

Undoubtedly, among birth, aging, sickness, and death, there is nothing humans can truly choose for themselves. Birth is not a matter of choice, and even the wish to "die without pain" is repeatedly thwarted by the barriers of institutions and society at the end of life.

Lee Seohyun's novel "A Comfortable Life" imagines a near future where euthanasia is institutionalized and artificial intelligence (AI) grants permission for death. The story centers on Mirae, a programmer at the private euthanasia company "Still Life," and her half-sibling Yeongwon, who suffers from a rare disease and wishes for euthanasia but is blocked by both regulations and AI. The disease affects only 0.2% of the global population, and no one has survived more than three years after onset. Yet, for the sole reason of being a "minor," Yeongwon's death is not permitted. In 13 standardized tests, the probability is always 7%. The law requires the consent of a "guardian never even met" for the euthanasia of a minor. Mirae, who lost both parents to euthanasia on the same day, now stands at a crossroads as both guardian and only family, forced to decide her half-sibling's fate.

While the novel appears to address death directly, it is, in fact, an unflinching gaze at the emotions surrounding death, especially the lives of those left behind. Yeongwon's choice to end her suffering cannot be complete without the love and forgiveness of those who remain.

The novel ultimately answers the question, "Is permitting death truly humane?" by suggesting that what matters most is not systems or probabilities. Moving beyond the debate over euthanasia, the story reminds us through the process of redefining family relationships that "humans hurt each other within relationships." AI may be able to calculate pain, but it cannot replace emotion or love. The author traverses the boundaries of institutions and technology, ethics and emotion, always placing "people" at the center of every discussion. Through the extraordinary stories of ordinary people struggling between life and death, courage and forgiveness, the novel captures the determination not to turn away from others' pain and the desire to protect those who remain.

The issues raised by the novel resonate with the realities of Korean society. According to a recent survey by the National Agency for Management of Life-Sustaining Treatment, more than 3 million people have pledged to sign advance directives, choosing a dignified death over life-prolonging treatment at the end of life. This figure approaches 7% of the entire adult population in South Korea, reflecting a growing social consensus around dignified death, the well-dying culture, and the refusal of life-sustaining treatment.

Who holds the right to choose between life and death? What choices can we make in the face of another's suffering? In a world where institutions and technology manage human death, the novel never lets go of questions about humanity, family, and emotion. It probes and answers meticulously and fiercely, not in the language of law, but in the language of literature.

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A Comfortable Life | Written by Lee Seohyun | Yeolrimwon | 312 pages | 17,000 won

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