Universal appeal

Lee Jung-myung poses with his novel "Investigation," newly translated into English by Pan Macmillan, at a bookstore in London on April 8. / Yonhap

Lee Jung-myung’s “The Investigation” reflects on impact of war, occupation

By Kim Young-jin

There’s no surefire method to predict the international success of a novel, especially one crossing over from a lesser-known market such as Korea. However, there are signposts that make the prognostication a bit easier.

There have been a few such hints for Lee Jung-myung’s “The Investigation,” newly translated into English by Pan Macmillan.

The novel is generating buzz because of the influential people involved in its English publication. But it’s also because the book explores the Korean experience of the Japanese occupation (1910-45) with nuance and compassion while maintaining a universal tone.

It’s backed by global literary agent Barbara Zitwer, who has been involved in the publication of Shin Kyung-sook’s “Please Look After Mom” and other Korean books that have seen international success. The release dovetails nicely with this year’s London Book Fair, which includes a market focus on Korea.

It’s not hard to see why it’s got the industry’s attention. It’s gripping, yet compassionately told; it tells of Korea’s past, but is relevant today. It’s emotionally affecting, but not overly sentimental, earning its impact through character development.

The book, primarily, is two things: an examination of the devastating effects of World War II and the occupation; and an imaginative paean to Korean poet Yun Dong-ju, who was arrested during the occupation for his independence activities and died in jail in 1945.

The story takes place in Fukuoka Prison in the waning days of the Japanese empire, when Tokyo was still in control of the Korean peninsula.

Yuichi Watanabe, a young guard, is tasked to investigate the murder of a prison warden, a notoriously cruel military man named Dozan Sugiyama. A lover of books, Watanabe is not like some other guards, who seemed to relish in beating up Korean soldiers, and bides his time until the war is over.

While looking into the case, he’s tasked with one of Sugiyama’s old jobs: burning banned books and correspondence. It pains the young guard to incinerate classics such as Crime and Punishment that had been confiscated.

He gets a break when Choi Chi-su, a Korean independence fighter, suddenly admits his guilt. But Watanabe wants more clarity. A poem found in the pocket of the deceased leads him to a fictional rendition of the poet Yun.

Both being literary types, the two relate through poetry. Sugiyama becomes more than a two-dimensional portrait, when Watanabe discovers he had befriended the poet. As he begins to unfurl how the pair formed a bond ­ and how the prison really operates ­ he resolves to uncover the full truth about the warden.

The novel could be marketed as a whodunit, or perhaps historical fiction (two of Lee’s previous novels have been made into historical dramas here). Despite the language being stiff in places, particularly in dialogue, the story is rendered in accessible prose that makes for a page-turning experience.

But more, it’s a meditation on the power of words. After all, it’s Yun’s poetry ­ and Watanabe and Sugiyama’s appreciation of it ­ that begins to reveal the truth. That stands in contrast to Watanabe’s work as a censor, shoveling literature into the incinerator.

Lee takes care to reveal his characters slowly and from multiple perspectives in order to paint full portraits. Whether Japanese or Korean, the characters have flaws and redeeming qualities. This, tied together with the Yun’s poetry, gives the “Investigation” plenty of elements that give it international appeal.