“The Leper”
by Lee Chang-dong
translated from the Korean by Heinz Insu Fenkl
from the December 30, 2024 & January 6, 2024 issue of The New Yorker

Until last year I only knew of Lee Chang-dong through his 2007 film Secret Sunshine. Then last March The New Yorker published his story “Snowy Day,” which I loved. Here we get his story “The Leper” for the final story of 2024.

The story begins with an epigraph:

. . . to survive, to hang on,
waiting for the new world to dawn,
what can you do but become a leper
nobody in the world would deign to touch?

—From “Windy Evening,” by Kim Seong-dong

Then the story itself begins with a few paragraphs that do little to capture me, but I’m okay giving this story some time to get to work:

Before I knocked, I took a moment to calm my breathing. But even a couple of deep breaths did nothing to lessen my anxiety, and, to the sound of voices on the other side, I carefully pushed open the thick door.

A female clerk sat at a desk just inside. “How may I help you?” she asked. The room wasn’t as large as I’d imagined. Directly in my line of sight from the door, I could see a man in his forties sitting with his back to the window. He seemed to be the boss of this office.

“I’m here to see the prosecutor,” I said.

I hope you’re all having a nice final few weeks of 2024. If you read the story, please let us know your thoughts!

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