The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Kang, Han. We Do Not Part. Hogarth, 2025.

Han Kang's novel We Do Not Part is told from the first-person point of view of the protagonist Kyungha. The novel is presented as a series of narrative fragments, which alternates among the past and present, dreams, memories, and reality. This atypical narrative structure enacts Kyungha's ongoing work to confront and reconcile with her generational trauma and to cope with her loss. This study guide relies upon the present tense and a linear mode of explanation for the sake of clarity.

Kyungha is living alone in a flat outside of Seoul. She moved here while working on her most recent book. The project required her to research gruesome aspects of Korean history that soon infected her dreams. Haunted, afraid, and distressed, Kyungha ended up pushing her loved ones away. She left her family behind to live by herself. Meanwhile, the dreams continue. The longer she lives with these recurring nightmares, the less able Kyungha is to make sense of what is real.

One day, Kyungha receives a text from her best friend, Inseon. She is begging for Kyungha's help because Inseon is in the hospital in Seoul. Though Kyungha is confused because Inseon lives on the island of Jeju off the coast of South Korea, she races to the hospital to see what is wrong. Once there, she discovers that Inseon cut off two of her fingers while working in her carpentry workshop. In horror, Kyungha realizes that Inseon must have been working on their collaborative project. When her dreams began some years ago, Kyungha asked Inseon if she would want to translate them into a collaborative film. As a documentarian, Inseon eagerly agreed. In recent days, however, Kyungha has decided that the project is a bad idea. She told Inseon that she no longer wanted to go through with it. Inseon revealed that she had already begun carving the tree trunks they needed for the film. In the hospital, she confirms that this is what she was doing when she injured herself.

Since Inseon will be in the hospital for some time, she begs Kyungha to go to to Jeju and check on her pet budgie, Ama. She is afraid that Ama will die if she does not get food and water soon. It is Kyungha loves Inseon that she ventures out into the snow.

Kyungha flies to Jeju and waits hours for a bus to Inseon's remote village. All the while, the snow continues. Finally, Kyungha reaches the village and meanders through the woods to Inseon's house. It is still snowing and is now dark. Kyungha slips, hits her head, and falls unconscious. When she awakens, she struggles to get up. She does not make it to the house until the sun starts rising.

At the house, Kyungha finds Ama dead in her cage. She entombs the bird and buries her under a palm tree. Then, she lies down inside the cold, dark house and falls asleep.

Kyungha wakes up and discovers that Ama is alive in her cage. She cannot be sure what is real and what is a dream. She goes to Inseon's workshop to boil some water on the wood stove and discovers Inseon is there. Her hand is perfectly intact. Kyungha wonders if she is dead in real life and this is her spirit, or if Inseon was never injured at all.

Inseon leads Kyungha inside. She pulls out boxes, books, and papers, and starts telling Kyungha about the Jeju massacre. This is the event Kyungha was researching. It has haunted her for years. She is unsure about looking at the photos or reading the articles and oral histories on the event. However, Inseon does not give up. In 1948, members of the communist party in Jeju protested upcoming United Nations elections. Soldiers and police were ordered to squash the protest by killing the protesters. They proceeded to evacuate the Jeju villages and slaughter any residents they believed were associated with the communist party or the guerrilla uprisings. Roughly 30,000 people died.

Inseon's mother, father, aunt, and uncle were all living in Jeju at the time of the massacre. Inseon's mother was haunted by the event throughout her life. She tells Kyungha her mother's story and explains how difficult it was for her to overcome her associated trauma. Then, she leads Kyungha into the woods. She shows her the clearing where she thinks they should shoot their film. The friends lie together in the snow, continuing to talk. Kyungha still cannot be sure if she and Inseon are alive or dead. However, she is glad to be by Inseon's side. When their candle goes out, she lights a match to create new light.