This is the second time I’ve read KS. I first started reading it in 8th grade around 2016 and finished it somewhere around the time I was completed and while I don’t think I should’ve read it at that age for the content alone - I also wasn’t able to understand the sheer complexity of Sangwoo and Yoon Bum at that age. It gave me this misguided perception of these characters that was so completely wrong. There is so much depth and pain behind these two that really can’t be thought about at surface level. The abuse that both of them endured turned them into the two sides of the same coin. The raw emotional (and physical) pain Bum goes through with Sangwoo when that’s somewhat the only treatment he’s ever known probably did nothing more than resolidify the understanding that this was the only way he could be loved. Even though the “love” he thought he had for Sangwoo was likely just an obsession or infatuation because no one else had been kind to him. But for Sangwoo, having such a deeply complicated relationship with his mother and having zero control in life growing up, even when it came down to “killing his mother”, his mom was the one who inevitably killed herself. The similarities between Bum and his mom show us his mental state and need to cling on to some form of control - even if he’s using Bum as a stand-in for his late mother. On the same hand, I think Bum also longed for this sense of control over either his life or surroundings. Maybe a sense or normalcy? The way he slowly becomes more bold with Sangwoo shows his comfort in finally being able to take some control (although not much). Both characters are so unstable and in the end, Sangwoo couldn’t control his death, and Bum’s attempt to cling onto something familiar failed as Sangwoo slipped out of his grasp through death.
There is so much painful beauty in the way these two were written and having the reader witness the horrible sides of abuse in such a literal sense is incredibly immersive and difficult. It’s an ugly story, and that’s what makes it so good. There’s no happy ending and it hurts. I hurt.
End note, I totally think exit music (for a film) is the perfect song for this story.
This is the second time I’ve read KS. I first started reading it in 8th grade around 2016 and finished it somewhere around the time I was completed and while I don’t think I should’ve read it at that age for the content alone - I also wasn’t able to understand the sheer complexity of Sangwoo and Yoon Bum at that age. It gave me this misguided perception of these characters that was so completely wrong.
There is so much depth and pain behind these two that really can’t be thought about at surface level.
The abuse that both of them endured turned them into the two sides of the same coin.
The raw emotional (and physical) pain Bum goes through with Sangwoo when that’s somewhat the only treatment he’s ever known probably did nothing more than resolidify the understanding that this was the only way he could be loved. Even though the “love” he thought he had for Sangwoo was likely just an obsession or infatuation because no one else had been kind to him.
But for Sangwoo, having such a deeply complicated relationship with his mother and having zero control in life growing up, even when it came down to “killing his mother”, his mom was the one who inevitably killed herself. The similarities between Bum and his mom show us his mental state and need to cling on to some form of control - even if he’s using Bum as a stand-in for his late mother.
On the same hand, I think Bum also longed for this sense of control over either his life or surroundings. Maybe a sense or normalcy? The way he slowly becomes more bold with Sangwoo shows his comfort in finally being able to take some control (although not much).
Both characters are so unstable and in the end, Sangwoo couldn’t control his death, and Bum’s attempt to cling onto something familiar failed as Sangwoo slipped out of his grasp through death.
There is so much painful beauty in the way these two were written and having the reader witness the horrible sides of abuse in such a literal sense is incredibly immersive and difficult. It’s an ugly story, and that’s what makes it so good.
There’s no happy ending and it hurts. I hurt.
End note, I totally think exit music (for a film) is the perfect song for this story.