Jang Ryu-jin X Goose Chiang
Korean novelist Jang Ryu-jin has published works such as "To the Moon" and "The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work", and was voted as the author of the year by readers of Yes24 Bookstore in Korea. A few days ago, I was invited to participate in the 2023 Taipei International Book Fair, and had a dialogue with Taiwanese writer Goose Chiang on creation, differences between Taiwan and South Korea, and life observation. The following is an excerpt from the interview between the two.
Goose Chiang（Ms. Chiang）：The editor-in-chief of ThinKingDom felt that Jang Ryu-jin and I had similar observations and descriptions of life, and wanted to have a conversation with Jang Ryu-jin, so I read two books by Jang Ryu-jin, one was A short story collection The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work and a novel To the Moon.
The story background of these two books is the office workplace in South Korea. It is very interesting to read, a bit like being in a sea of people, you suddenly enter the body of a woman who works in South Korea, and see her office life through her eyes. Among them, you will find the difficulties or secret joys you have encountered in the office, which is very interesting.When Jang Ryu-jin narrates what she has seen and heard in the workplace, her tone reads flat, not particularly angry, jealous, difficult or wanting to give up, but lightly describing the various embarrassments we have in the workplace place. Jang Ryu-jin described it in a smooth and calm tone, which made me feel kind. In particular, I can feel her description in details very much. Those details that she sees silently may not be seen by others.
In the short story collection The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, there is an article called Visitor in the Early Morning. The protagonist lives in Room 1204, and there is no threshold between the toilet and the room, so the protagonist always feels that something is missing. This setting is set in the novel To the Moon. The protagonist Dahai is also very concerned when he is looking for a house. I can't help but wonder, is there such a non-existent threshold in Jang Ryu-jin's growth process? Do you want it to exist or not? Does this threshold become some kind of motivation in the process of pursuing progress in life?
Jang Ryu-jin（Ms. Jang）：In fact, I have lived in a room without a threshold. Because there is no threshold, the water from the washing machine in the toilet will flow into the room. Many readers thought that I wrote Threshold to set a boundary, but in fact, it was only because the image of washing machine water flowing into the room often appeared in my mind, and I always felt that this image kept saying to me: "Write me, write me!" So very Naturally, the message you want to convey is presented in the work.
Ms. Chiang： Did you start writing when you saw the water from the washing machine running into your room?
Ms. Jang：I hadn't started writing at that time, only the pictures remained in my mind, and when I started to write, those pictures naturally emerged. For example, in the article Visitors in the Early Morning, there is a man who went to the sex trade. He thought that the room he went to was a sex trade place, so he peeked through the door, and the woman in the room also deduced from the door , It turns out that boys who look like this will do sex work. After reading this episode, readers will find that the crack in the door represents the conquest of sight, but I didn't have this idea when I wrote it, but this message was included in it after I finished writing it.
Ms. Chiang：I'm still struggling with the washing machine, so were you nervous when you saw that image?
Ms. Jang：Yes!
Ms. Chiang：Has anyone else seen it?
Ms. Jang：It was the house I lived in alone, so only I saw it at the moment.
Ms. Chiang： Have you told anyone about this?
Ms. Jang：I told my boyfriend at the time.
Ms. Chiang：What was his reaction?
Ms. Jang：He just said, "Oh, you've worked hard."
（Laughing）
Ms. Chiang：I would like to ask you, people who have a desire to create in their hearts tend to be more keen in observing details, and can see details that are not easy for others to see. Even if they say it, others may not understand it. For this ability to see details, do you think it is a blessing or a lesson in life?
Ms. Jang：This is a difficult problem. Things that others think are ordinary, I see a little more sharply than others, and then in the process of writing novels, the sensitive part will become more sensitive, so I once said to my friends: "I want to change my personality and become Be calm and slow, if there is such a cram school, I will sign up.” But my friend replied to me: “It is a blessing from heaven. If you do not have such keen observation skills, you will not be able to do your current job "This friend is a designer, and she also has this ability. She said, "Although it is hard to have keen observation skills, let's continue to live like this."
Ms. Chiang：May I ask when did you discover that you have such power of observation? Is there a long time gap between these feelings hidden in your heart, from brewing to when you start to write them down with a pen?
Ms. Jang：I didn't write it down as soon as I observed it. I was not conscious of observing this matter, but simply imagined it: "While walking on the road, press the shutter of the camera. When needed, these photos are taken out from the album in my mind." While recalling He said, "Ah, so these things happened."
Ms. Chiang：Turns out I was the one who thought too much! (Audience laughs) My order is, I saw it first, but I didn't want to write it down, I just stored it in my mind first. Slowly accumulating too much, I have to write it out and throw it away. Ha, once again proved that I was thinking too much.
Furthermore, you are no longer an office worker, but a full-time writer. Then your current living environment and the people around you are not the same as before. For example, if you are a supervisor, wait, do you still have a supervisor?
Ms. Jang：I am my own supervisor.
Ms. Chiang：Congratulations, has this stimulated everyone? (Audience laughs) After resignation, because there is no supervisor, the source of anxiety in life will be different, and the details that the eyes will notice will also be different. Has this changed the direction of your current writing, or the topics of interest will be different because of this?
Ms. Jang：In fact, I haven't left my job for a long time. I have been a writer for about four years. I have been writing non-stop in order to deliver the manuscript, so I haven’t really felt the change.
Ms. Chiang：You mentioned handing in the manuscript just now, which made me tremble unconsciously.
The ability to observe details does not change because of different industries. Even after leaving the workplace, I still feel anxious. Without supervisors and customers, I will deal with things differently, and it is easier to handle things to my liking; but gradually There is nothing to complain about, and I feel that the urge to turn it into an article or a story has become smaller, and the desire to confide has become less.
I remember that you won an award when you were an office worker. There was no due date for your writing at that time, right?
Ms. Jang：Yes, there was no delivery date at that time, it was an agreement between me and myself.
Ms. Chiang：Originally, there was no delivery date, but later I became a full-time writer and an editor agreed on a delivery time. What is the difference between the two mentalities?
Ms. Jang：Not having a deadline is more like practicing writing. I will revise the manuscript again and again and cannot finish it, so I participate in the academic review meeting. Although it is not a formal invitation and there is no fee, but there is an explanation in the association, and there is still a deadline. If there is no deadline, maybe I won't be able to finish the manuscript at all. So for me the difference before and after debut is whether there are readers or not. Although the members of the academic review committee are also considered readers, their purpose is to give comments after reading, not readers who simply want to read my works.
Ms. Chiang：To the Moon is a story about three girls interacting with each other as the main characters. The protagonist Zheng Dahai met two other girls in a big company and became very good friends. One of them was dating a Taiwanese. The description of this Taiwanese boyfriend in the story was "a good-looking male college student". Because the theme of the story is the workplace, the protagonist himself has life anxiety such as being single and not having enough savings. He thinks that the person he associates with is not only a student but also a foreigner, which is an unrealistic plan for his future career. Why did you arrange a Taiwanese boyfriend for this role?
Ms. Jang：The three characters in To the Moon are money lovers, instant enjoyment without saving money, and the last one in between. Therefore, when I set the role of instant enjoyment, I wanted to give her a boyfriend who has no sense of stability and may not be able to be together in the future. This boyfriend is young and a foreigner. Although he is a foreigner, he doesn't want to be too far away. It takes about two and a half hours to fly between Taiwan and South Korea, and there is an atmosphere of whether they are not far or close, and whether the two of them can continue to communicate.
In addition, for the role of this boyfriend, I also want to give him a handsome and clean image. As mentioned earlier, I will keep the details in my mind. So where did this boyfriend image come from? It's a bit embarrassing to say, but it's actually a talent show from Korea: PRODUCE 101. 101 teenagers compete together, and only 11 can debut as idols in the end. When I saw this program, I was still practicing writing. I didn't regard the contestants as idols, but I resonated with them, because the contestants wanted to be idols in the same way that I wanted to be a novelist.
In order for these youngsters to make their debut, they need to be seen by the audience, but success is not achieved through hard work, and even if they are selected, they may be forgotten by the audience. As long as I see someone being eliminated every week, I am very sad. I will seriously vote for these contestants. At that time, I supported Lai Kuanlin from Taiwan, and this image was stored in my mind.
Ms. Jiang：It's great to see you set up such a role of a Taiwanese male college student. Just now I mentioned that the characters are set up based on the Taiwanese contestants in the talent show, so what is your impression of Taiwan?
Ms. Jang：This is my first time in Taiwan, and of course I have a good impression of Taiwan because of the contestants in the talent show.
Ms. Chiang：This Taiwanese contestant really promotes international exchanges. (Audience laughs)
Ms. Jang：I have always wanted to come to Taiwan, and today I am very happy to meet readers and friends in Taiwan with my two books.
Full Article in Traditional Chinese
