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More Human than Humans
2025-01-02
English(English)
Korean(한국어)
Recently, a public service robot was found damaged at the bottom of a staircase in a government building. This robot, designed to work alongside humans, was discovered at the base of a two-meter-high staircase. Witnesses reported that the robot exhibited strange behavior, such as spinning in circles, before its fall. People speculated that the robot, unable to cope with overwork and stress, had ended its own life. They interpreted its hesitation at the top of the stairs as a sign of accumulated stress and pain, and mourned its shattered remains with sadness and empathy. This is a profoundly human interpretation.
Robots are not human. This incident was likely a temporary mechanical failure. Robots, created by humans to perform tasks, are objects. They do not breathe or have body temperature like us. Yet, humans often attribute more human-like qualities to robots than to humans themselves.
Kim Young-ha's Farewell Greetings introduces us to Cheol-i, a humanoid who lives his entire life unaware of his true nature. When he discovers the truth, he is plunged into an existential crisis. Bora Chung's Your Utopia explores the use of deepfake technology to connect with those who passed away before anti-discrimination laws were enacted in Korea. Cheon Seonran's A Thousand Blues explores the bond between a humanoid jockey, Collie, and his racehorse, Today, as well as the connections between humans. Kim Bo-Young's On the Origin of Species and Other Stories paints a picture of a world inhabited solely by robots, where efforts are being made to restore organic life. Finally, Kim Cho-yeop's The World We Just Left Behind presents a future where humans have evolved beyond their physical limitations, leading to various societal challenges.
Through these novels, we can explore human perspectives on robots.
Farewell Greetings [Chinese]
Author Kim Young-ha Translator Na Sookyung Korean Publisher Bokbokseoga (2022) Overseas Published AzothBooks Co., Ltd. (2024)
Set in a not-so-distant future, this novel follows a boy whose life is abruptly turned upside down. Cheol-i, living a peaceful life with his father, a researcher at a prominent IT company, is unexpectedly dragged to a detention camp where he faces mental and physical crises in a chaotic world full of raw emotions he has never experienced before.
Your Utopia [English]
Author Bora Chung Translator Anton Hur Korean Publisher Arzak Livres (2021) Overseas published Algonquin Books (2024)
A departure from her previous work, Cursed Bunny, this book delves into themes of solidarity. It shows how solidarity persists, whether held together by inertia or ends in messy failure, in people's entangled lives both directly and indirectly. It is also a story about a struggle that will never truly end.
A Thousand Blues [German]
Author Cheon Seonran Translator Jan Henrik Dirks Korean Publisher Hubble (2020) Overseas Published Golkonda (2023)
Set in the near future where humanoid robots have become commonplace, the story follows a humanoid jockey named Collie who has accidentally received a cognitive ability chip. Collie deliberately falls off his horse, Today, whose cartilage is deteriorating. Determined to save Today, Eunhye and Collie join forces to devise a plan for the "slowest horse on Earth."
The Origin of a Species [Italian]
Author Kim Bo-young Translator Federica Amodio Korean Publisher Arzak Livres (2023) Overseas published Add Editore (2023)
Completed over 23 years, The Origin of a Species deals with the origins of life in a distant future dominated by robots. The author herself describes this work as "ultimately a story ultimately robots, a personal tribute to inorganic life and a hymn to mechanical life." The work captures the intense struggle to find a path of coexistence between reverence and destruction.
The World We Just Left Behind [Chinese]
Author Kim Choyeop Translator Na Sookyung Korean Publisher Hanibook (2021) Overseas Published Linking Publishing Co., Ltd. (2023)
This collection of seven stories that unfold across the vast, ever-expanding universe. In a dystopian setting, characters struggle for genuine humanity—whether they are escaping from a younger sibling to discover their true selves or are committing acts of terror against normal people in their quest for their true identities.
얼마 전 한 공공기관에 도입한 공무원 로봇이 계단 아래에서 파손된 채 발견된 일이 있었습니다. 인간과 함께 일하던 이 로봇이 마지막으로 발견된 곳은 2미터 아래 계단이었습니다. 로봇 주무관이 추락하기 전 한 자리를 빙글빙글 도는 등 이상 행동을 보였다는 동료 공무원의 증언이 있었고, 사람들은 로봇이 과로와 스트레스를 견디지 못해 스스로 생을 마감한 것으로 추측했습니다. 계단 앞을 머뭇대던 모습을 그간의 스트레스와 고통으로 이해하고, 계단 밑으로 구른 것을 스스로 생을 마감했다고 표현하며 산산조각 난 모습에 슬픔과 연민의 감정을 담아 애도했습니다. 참으로 인간적인 해석입니다.
로봇은 인간이 아닙니다. 이 사고는 분명 일시적인 기계 오류였을 것입니다. 인간을 대신해 활동할 수 있도록 인간이 개발한 로봇은 '사물'입니다. 호흡하고 체온을 가진 인간과는 장르가 다릅니다. 그럼에도 인간은 로봇에게 인간보다 더 인간 같은 존재감을 부여합니다.
김영하의 《작별인사》는 자신이 휴머노이드라는 사실을 모른 채 평생을 살아왔으나 진실을 깨달으며 정체성 혼란에 사로잡혀 괴로워하는 철이가 등장합니다. 정보라의 《그녀를 만나다》에서는 딥페이크 기술을 통해 차별금지법 제정 전에 안타깝게 세상을 등졌던 이들을 만나고, 천선란의 《천 개의 파랑》은 휴머노이드 기수 콜리와 그의 경주마 ‘투데이’, 그리고 인간 간의 교감과 연대를 그립니다. 김보영의 《종의 기원담》은 로봇만이 존재하는 세상, 매연으로 빛을 차단하고 물을 독성화학물로 규정하여 오로지 로봇의 생존만을 위한 지구에 곰팡이, 식물과 같은 유기생명체를 복원하면서 벌어지는 일을 들려줍니다. 마지막으로 김초엽의 《방금 떠나온 세계》는 미래 세계에서 맞이하게 되는 인간의 기능 퇴화와 각종 결함을 극복하기 위한 다채로운 노력을 다룹니다.
북큐레이션 ‘인간보다 더 인간 같은 존재들’에서 소개하는 이 책들을 통해 로봇을 바라보는 인간의 시선에 대해 생각해보세요.
작별인사 [중국어]
저자 김영하 번역가 나수경 국내출판 복복서가(2022) 해외출판 漫遊者文化(2024)
그리 멀지 않은 미래를 배경으로, 별안간 삶이 송두리째 뒤흔들린 한 소년의 여정을 좇는다. 유명한 IT 기업의 연구원인 아버지와 쾌적하고 평화롭게 살아가던 철이는 어느 날 갑자기 수용소로 끌려가 난생처음 날것의 감정으로 가득한 혼돈의 세계에 맞닥뜨리게 되면서 정신적, 신체적 위기에 직면한다.
23년에 걸쳐 완성된 《종의 기원담》은 로봇이 지배하는 먼 미래 생물의 기원 문제를 다룬다. 김보영 작가는 “이것은 결국 로봇의 이야기다. 무기생명에 대한 내 개인적인 헌사이며, 기계생명을 향한 찬가다.”라고 말한 바 있다. 이처럼 숭배와 파괴 사이에서 공생의 길을 찾기 위한 고군분투가 담겼다.
방금 떠나온 세계 [중국어]
저자 김초엽 번역가 나수경 국내출판 한겨레출판(2021) 해외출판 聯經出版公司(2023)
끝없이 확장되는 공간 우주, 《방금 떠나온 세계》에는 광활한 우주에서 벌어지는 7편의 이야기가 담겼다. 진짜 내가 되기 위해 동생에게서 도망치고, 진짜 내가 되기 위해 정상인들에게 테러를 일으키는 등 디스토피아 속 인물들이 각자의 방식으로 인간이 되기 위해 고군분투한다.
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