VOL.69/2024.04

Bone Soup by Kim Young-tak

2023.06.05

In the near future, Korea’s southern port city of Busan is hit by a tsunami. Surprisingly, the water vanishes in the aftermath and the coast is shifted. While wealthy members of society moved up north in fear of another tsunami, people in poverty started to settle on the new land that was previously under the sea. Thus, the city was divided into the rich Upper Neighborhood and the poor Lower Neighborhood. But this is not the only consequence: After the tsunami, animal diseases regularly broke out, which eventually led to the extinction of all livestock and cattle. Scientists then created a new animal called “the thing,” whose meat is unpalatable.
In 2063, Lee Uhwan lives a meaningless life in the lower district. He does not expect anything from life, grew up without parents, and works as a kitchen assistant in a restaurant. His boss, who is in his 80s, continuously romanticizes the savory Gomtang (“beef bone soup” in English) he ate when he was young. As time travel is possible, the restaurant owner asks Uhwan to travel to the past to acquire a recipe for beef bone soup, learn how to make it, and return along with some beef leg bones, necessary for the soup. Outside, in the water of the shifted coast of Busan, portals were found that let one travel to the past. However, no one ever returns from there. Therefore, only people like Uhwan, who have nothing to lose, undergo this adventure. Uhwan travels with 12 other passengers to the year 2019. However, when they arrive, 11 of them are dead. Only Uhwan and a mysterious man who claims he needs to kill someone, can continue their mission.
While Uhwan finds the Gomtang restaurant and is accepted as an assistant there, the reader is confronted with a mysterious corpse. Following the eyes of police officer Yang Chang-geun, the reader gets the perspective of the police’s investigation of an unidentified corpse in a technical high school. The main suspect is Lee Sunhee, the son of the owner of the restaurant. However, things do not add up. The corpse suddenly appeared, the man had not been seen on any CCTV, and the pathologist concludes that he must have been murdered by some kind of laser weapon that no one can imagine.

Usually, I do not like time travel stories, as plot holes are almost inevitable, and the whole idea of time travel is very unrealistic and feels more like fantasy instead of sci-fi. However, the book Bone Soup (Spring Sunshine Publishing) is very entertaining to read. The story is enthralling and offers likable characters. The reader gets confronted with a mysterious corpse, a killer, an ominous apartment complex, and the family of the Gomtang restaurant. Although, the introduction of the story seems very gloomy and dystopian, as it starts in 2063, the overall story is bright, fun, and fast-paced. Uhwan begins to like 2019 way more than 2063, and there are some quick-witted and lovely characters who are always good for a joke.
Although Uhwan appears as the protagonist, the story I liked to follow the most was that of Lee Sunhee and his true love, Yu Kanghee. They are an extraordinarily unique and refreshing couple. Moreover, there is a detective plot about the classroom corpse that keeps the reader engaged.
Apparently, writer Kim Young-tak wrote the novel in a hotel in Sri Lanka. One day, he remembered how he ate together with his father, the Gomtang of his mother. So he wished to travel through time to enjoy it with his father once again. As Kim is a movie director, his wife’s friend recommended making a movie about it. However, Kim always wanted to write a novel and did very well on his debut. Originally released on Kakao Page online, the story was later released in two physical volumes. In Germany, Bone Soup 2 was released on May 26, 2023.

Written by Christian Bolz (Reader of K-Book Trends)