일 퍼센트

The story opens with the world already aware it will imminently be destroyed. A meteor is heading to earth, with a 99% chance of collision; radioactive meteor fragments are already raining down, causing destruction. In 서울, city infrastructure has been abandoned, leaving residents without running water or electricity, and looting and arson have become a nightly occurence.

지후 and his parents luckily have enough food and drink to last them until the end of the world; in fact, they have a large stock of bottled water, which is in demand given the lack of running water and pollution of the groundwater from the meteor fragments. At first, the family only trades bottled water for necessary supplies, but when they realise how much money people are willing to pay, 지후's parents are eager to sell more, saying that this will help secure 지후's future if the meteor doesn't hit the earth. 지후 finds himself alone for long periods of time, listening to the countdown to the collision on the radio.

One day while his parents are out, a classmate visits to give him bread. When he opens the door, men rush in and steal the bottled water. The classmate begs her father not to rob her friend, but is ignored. When 지후's parents return, they find him sobbing; there are only a couple of bottles of water left.

지후's father is enraged, and bitterly laments the deal he could have made to procure an apartment from someone desperate for water. He decides to steal bottled water from a neighbour so he can complete the deal, and the family visit their new luxury 강남 apartment. 지후 wants to cook for his parents, but his father realises that since even the wealthiest residents lack running water, he could steal even more of their neighbour's bottled water to trade with.

지후 can only wait for his parents' return. He cooks for himself, eats alone, and listens to the radio. In this luxurious apartment, he finds himself lonely and missing the family's basement home. An update on the radio states that there had been a miscalculation regarding the impact date: the meteor would hit earth earlier than previously thought. Looking out the window, 지후 can see the meteor's descent, as the trail disappears beyond the horizon. The building starts shaking, and in a panic, 지후 rushes out to the elevator. He waits desperately for the elevator to arrive, hoping to see his parents again. As the doors open, everything is consumed by a blinding light.

There's not much to note about the language: the grammar is on the easier side, and the vocabulary is mostly high-frequency although there are the occasional less common words which tend to be repeated throughout the story. Overall I found it a fairly easy reading experience without any noticeable difficulties.

As for the story, given the subject matter I don't think I could say I enjoyed it, but it does give the reader a lot to think about. At the start of the story, the family is as content as they could possibly be given that the end of the world is nigh: they have enough to survive until the meteor strike, and they have each other. However, as the story progresses, 지후's parents - particularly his father - become fixated on the wealth they can acquire thanks to their stock of clean water, and when that is gone, the water they steal from a neighbour.

지후 watches his parents change for the worse, their sole focus now being gaining as much money as possible, ostensibly for 지후's future, banking on the 1% chance of survival. Are they just desperately clinging to a tiny glimmer of hope, or has the taste of wealth and power awakened an insatiable greed within them? Either way, they spend what could be their final days trading and accumulating riches, leaving 지후 to face the end of the world alone.

Children watch as the adults around them turn into people they don't recognise, their desperation making them behave in selfish ways: 지후's parents steal from a neighbour (what's worse, a man who isn't able to spend his final days with his family, and was paralyzed during the commotion); 지후's classmate just wants to return the favour of 지후 giving her younger sibling water by giving him bread, but her father ends up robbing him. When 지후's father realises they've lost their stock of precious water, he shakes a crying 지후 in anger; 지후 finds this more frightening than the impending meteor collision.

It's heartbreaking that 지후 has to spend the end of days alone, when all he wants is to be with his parents. He has spent time reading cooking books, and when they get the luxury apartment, he wants to make food for them, but they rush off to steal even more from their disabled neighbour, leaving 지후 to have what will turn out to be his last meal alone. In his final moments, all he wants is to see his parents' faces one last time, but he is denied even that.

In the afterword, the author muses on society's obsession with numbers and status, and how difficult people find it to be happy with what they have because we're always looking at what other people have. In the story, 지후's parents have everything they need: enough provisions to last until the meteor hits, and each other. But as the story progresses, they lose sight of what's important - their son, and the bonds they have with others - because they are obsessed with the thought that they could be in the top 1% of society if the 1% chance of survival comes to pass. They are more upset about the loss of the bottled water after the robbery than 지후 being traumatised and possibly hurt. They are so overcome with greed that they leave their only child alone day after day as the end of the world approaches. Rather than value what they do have, they are obsessed with gaining more, and in the end, it's all for nothing.

Not an uplifting story by any means, but I think it's a thought-provoking and worthwhile read. What are we taking for granted while wishing for more? How can we treasure that which is most important to us? How do we ground ourselves in the present rather than worrying about or wishing for a future that may never transpire?