Book Introduction

Written by the author Yang Kyu-ja, this is her fourth full-length novel published in 1998. Within a month of its release, it surged to the top of the bestseller list at an alarming speed, shocking the publishing industry and establishing itself as the top bestseller of the year, showcasing once again the 'power of Yang Kyu-ja's novels'.

Fifteen years have already passed since the first edition was released, but this novel <Contradiction> is walking a very special path. Readers who were in their twenties at that time have now gotten married and entered their thirties, often pulling <Contradiction> out to reread. Each time they revisit it, they discover meanings in the novel's subtext they didn't grasp before, or are surprised by new interpretations revealed by the passage of time, not hesitating to cite it as “the most beloved book of my life”. What makes <Contradiction> special is that most readers do not read it just once but return to it at least twice, if not three times or more.

There are also blog reviews claiming to have read <Contradiction> ten times or more. Enthusiastic readers constantly record, share, and reflect on the sentences within the novel, leaving behind traces. The fact that this novel has gone through 132 printings and continues to be discussed by readers is truly mysterious.

Recently, the publishing house “Sseuda”, which has acquired all the copyrights to Yang Kyu-ja's works, released a revised edition of <Contradiction>, keeping those readers in mind. This book aims to be a volume one can treasure for a long time, a true book of one's life, presented in a refined hardcover edition that engages with the reader.

Table of Contents

1 The Cry of Life

2 Lies

3 A Landscape with People

4 The Father of a Sad Sunset

5 The Shadow of Faint Love

6 The Meaning of Those Ten Minutes Long Ago

7 The Exaggeration of Misery

8 Kind Juri

9 On the Way to Seonunsa Dosoam

10 Three Notes on Love

11 The Fourth Note on Love

12 Unbearable, So Unbearable

13 The Day After We Parted

14 Christmas Gift

15 Bittersweet

16 Letter

17 Contradiction