Maverick novelist stresses human nature in 'The Retribution Agency'

Novelist Lee Oi-soo introduces his latest novel, “The Retribution Agency,” during a press conference in Seoul, Tuesday. / Yonhap

By Park Jin-hai

“Korea’s art and culture today lag far behind others, as seen in the blacklist of anti-government artists. I strongly wished principles and morality would recover and common sense could have a place in society. I wrote this book hoping it can contribute to that cause,” said novelist Lee Oi-soo, who introduced his latest novel, “The Retribution Agency,” during a press conference in Seoul, Tuesday.

The 70-year-old is a maverick figure on the Korean literary scene and his best-selling books are known for their unconventional views of life.

It has been 12 years since his last novel was released and the author has returned to the literary scene after recovering from stomach cancer.

The novel is about a 30-year-old man who can communicate with flowers. He teams up with flowers, a friend with the supernatural power of psychic photography, a flower shop owner, an eccentric prosecutor and a journalist to form an agency to pursue justice.

Listening to the voices of people, animals and flowers, the taskforce goes after all sorts of villains, including an animal abuser, a bribe-taking and influence-peddling lawmaker, and a professor who took kickbacks from the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project, which was former President Lee Myung-bak's $20 billion flagship project to build dams on rivers but was criticized for destroying their ecosystems.

“A human being is great, not because he or she has formidable weapons but has the heart to love all things,” Lee said. “The law of the jungle and survival of the fittest _ the weak fall and the strong feast _ doesn’t conform to human nature. When the weak fall, others should stretch their hands out to help them stand back up and despite some delays, reaching for a destination together is human-like. My novel includes such a spirit.”

Lee has a wide fan base for his novels and essays that delve into the fundamental meanings of life with a hearty sense of humor.

Because his books don’t mince words in criticizing the government, he was on the anti-government artist watch-list of the two previous governments. “I’ve had to endure very hard times financially,” he said. “My livelihood was threatened and I had to worry about making a living.

“The new book is about people who wipe out those who make the world a rotten place.”

The two-volume book is a re-edited version of the web novel he posted between February and May this year on Kakao Page.

The 80-part online novel topped the literature category, gathering more than 400,000 subscribers.

“The era of paper books is gone and as a new way to reach readers of today, I released my new novel on the web first,” Lee said. “Writing a novel for e-book readers or mobile readers was not an easy task for me, but I’ll keep working at it.”