Summary

The Epilogue is written from the author’s point of view in 2013. Han Kang opens the chapter by revealing that she was nine years old when she and her family moved from Gwangju to Suyuri just before the uprising. Her parents sold her childhood home, or hanok, to Dong-ho’s father. Her father was a school teacher, and had taught Dong-ho before. Dong-ho had lived in Kang’s old bedroom. Kang remembers when the adults in her home talked about the death of Dong-ho in hushed voices. At that time, she did not understand what they were trying to hide from her and her brothers. The author also recalls that summer of 1980 when two men came into their house between three and four a.m., searching through all of their belongings. She and her brothers watched, sleepy and uncomprehending. She also remembers hearing her...