Korean Literature Review –Photo Shop Murder

The title story of this book follows the ruminations of a cynical, chain-smoking detective as he tries to make sense of a brutal murder that takes place in an unassuming photo shop. The victim, a man in his forties, has been bludgeoned to death in the early hours of an otherwise quiet Sunday morning. The man has a wife, rather young and not unattractive, upon whom suspicion immediately falls. In the woman, the detective sees shades of his own wife – whose infidelity has been largely responsible for his jaded outlook. Although at first it appears his suspicions are unfounded, investigations reveal that the woman has a lover – a customer of the shop who periodically brings in nude photographs of himself for developing. In time the true perpetrator of the murder is revealed, but what sustains the reader (aside from the mystery, of course) is the detective’s pitiless analysis of his own crumbling relationship.

The second story included in this volume, Whatever Happened to the Guy Stuck in the Elevator?, is a total departure from the gritty, noir-esque atmosphere of Photo Shop Murder. From the opening scene, in which the main character, Jeong, is forced to leave his apartment after shaving only half his face, it is clear that an absurd – perhaps farcical – tale is about to unfurl. The peculiar title comes from an incident in the opening pages in which Jeong comes across a set of legs protruding from the doors of an elevator trapped between the 5th and 6th floors of his apartment complex. Despite his good intentions, Jeong is unable to summon help and is obliged to hustle to the bus stop or run the risk of being late for an important meeting. Although he occupies the bottom rung of the corporate ladder, Jeong is hoping to bolster his career with an innovative cost-cutting plan that involves the installation of automatic toilet paper dispensers. Sadly, his presentation fails to produce its intended effect, perhaps owing to the bizarre set of coincidences that has caused him to turn up late and in an especially disheveled state.

Throughout the story Jeong never completely rids himself of the image of the pair of legs dangling from the elevator doors. In fact, he is all but haunted by the curiosity that has been steadily building about the fate of the man trapped inside. In the end, the reader is left to wonder if there’s perhaps more to the situation than meets the eye. After all, the stalled elevator seems a perfect metaphor for Jeong’s life and career. Despite his frantic efforts, both are going nowhere.  The conception of modern life as little more than a ‘rat race’ has been a familiar trope in Western culture since the 1950s. Being treated to its Korean equivalent is nothing less than eye-opening.  

                Elton LaClare