Human Acts
As Han Kang has been getting a lot of attention recently, I was curious to read my first book by her — Human Acts.
The setting of Human Acts was during the Gwangju Uprising, when civilians rose up against the government and were met with brutal military violence. Student groups and laborers formed militias and stood up for their rights, mostly with bare hands, while the army opened fire on them.
The story begins with Dong-ho, a middle school student searching for his friend’s body. He eventually ends up helping organize the dead bodies of the victims in a gymnasium. There he meets Eun-sook, Seon-ju, and Jin-su, each carrying their own ambitions and pain. Later, the story reveals their perspectives and what becomes of them.
One scene that left a deep impression on me is when the young students, holding guns, wait for the army to enter so they can shoot. They can’t bring themselves to do it. But the soldiers on the other side can. In that moment, brutality and humanity exist side by side.
“It was impossible for them to pull the trigger knowing that a person would die if they did so. They were children. We had handed out guns to children. Guns they were not capable of firing.”
Human Acts shows how disturbing and sickening people can be. Government soldiers shoot at surrendering children. Women are beaten and tortured in horrific ways.
The victims, both those who died during the shootings and those who survived, have their lives destroyed. Many are stuck in miserable jobs, unable to bear intimacy, traumatized by the beatings and the loss of loved ones. They remain trapped in their pain and in the past.
“Is it true that human beings are fundamentally cruel? Is the experience of cruelty the only thing we share as a species? Is the dignity that we cling to nothing but self-delusion…?”
As someone who has read many books about war, I don’t think the themes here are entirely new to me. The cruelty of human beings, the suffering, the deaths, and the lifelong scars left on survivors — these are things many war stories explore. Still, I really enjoyed reading this book.
What I liked most is how the novel slowly reveals its characters. Each perspective connects back to the people in the gymnasium and shows the aftermath in different lives.
Some readers might not enjoy the constant shifts in perspective and time. But for me, those pieces gradually come together in a way that makes the story even more powerful.
This was my first book by Han Kang, and it left a strong impression. It’s short, gripping, and hard to put down. If you’re looking for a powerful but relatively quick read, I’d recommend it.
“After you died I couldn’t hold a funeral, so these eyes that once beheld you became a shrine.”