'New book is a self defense by a psychopath'

Novelist Jeong You-jeong

By Yun Suh-young

Novelist Jeong You-jeong, who has a loyal following, spoke with readers during "Novel Night" organized by Yes24 about her recently released book "Origin of Species," Aug. 26. "Novel Night" is the first integrative book event organized by Yes24, Korea’s largest online bookseller, offering cultural performances with talking sessions. Whereas previous book events offered by the company were more of lectures and discussion sessions with authors, the new program which began Friday is a collaborative event, including theater, band performances and talks with the writer which all came as a package.

"'Origin of Species' is a self defense of a psychopath who tries to justify his actions despite its cruelty and inhumanness," said Jeong, summarizing the character of the book. Jeong is the author of "28," "Shoot My Heart," "Spring Camp of My Life" and "Seven Years' Night."

"The novel itself is the voice of Han Yoo-jin who lies and rationalizes his behavior. The narrative is told in the first person so readers can really immerse themselves in the story. After finishing the book, readers will find themselves identifying with Yoo-jin, which is what makes the book scary."

"Origin of Species," which was released in May, is about a psychopath who murders his entire family. Yoo-jin, a promising young swimmer who received much public attention, loses his father and brother in a terrible accident right before his eyes. Ever since, he had been prescribed an unknown daily medication by his aunt which he takes every day. One day, at the age of 16, he enters a swimming competition without taking the pill and has a seizure. His swimming career ends with that incident. Since then, Yoo-jin wanders the streets at night, escaping from the suffocating rules of his mother and his over-watching aunt. One day, Yoo-jin faces his mother's dead body and finds himself covered in blood. That is the beginning of the search for the murderer, and where the real story begins.

"Human beings have both good and evil within them. During normal days, they may lean closer to good until they face an incident which makes them step over to the evil side. The fear readers feel while reading the novel is more a fear of discovering themselves and of the future," said Jeong.

When asked why she named her book "Origin of Species" which is the title of naturalist Charles Darwin's book, Jeong said, "I remembered one scholar saying in his book, 'the next species after homo sapiens may be homo psychopath.' This struck me. We all have vice within us. People are increasingly losing empathy and consideration for others and becoming more selfish.

"So I thought of using the title 'Origin of Evil' but that was too direct and not literary so I decided on 'Origin of Species' with slight concerns of tarnishing the reputation of Darwin. But I went with it anyway because for the first time, my mind didn't change about the title."

Recalling her time writing the book, she said it was painful to impersonate a psychopath while creating the character.

"I realized how difficult it is for an ordinary human being to think like a psychopath. The story wasn't hard; rather becoming Yoo-jin was difficult. Psychopaths don't have moral standards but my moral standards kept interfering," she said.

Jeong said she thought one’s ethics are subject to change.

"I don't think morality is absolute. It can be changed relatively. What was considered just in the past may no longer be just today."

Jeong said she portrayed Yoo-jin as a pretty-faced, weak-kneed character because the evil that comes from such an appearance can be more frightening.

"I wanted to show that what you see on the outside isn't everything. There is something different happening on the inside. So that's why I particularly described him that way when I usually don't describe physical appearances of characters."