문학과 지성사

An invitation to break the chain of self-contradiction
and enter the world of imagination.

Lee Seung-U’s fourth book of short stories, A Conjecture Regarding Labyrinth, is a compilation of works that appeared in literary journals during the period when the author began to delve deeper into the issues of power as an extension of the metaphysical concept of transcendence explored in his earlier works. Set in a time when South Korea’s democracy was yet to become stable, the stories in this collection pay attention to the labyrinthine power dynamics of the 1980s–1990s and tackle the problem of power through different methods. Facing the tyranny of power, the characters in this book are continuously left at a crossroads to question the true meaning of life. A Conjecture Regarding Labyrinth is a testament to the internationally recognized author’s longtime contemplation of life here and now across myths and history.

A critical reflection on myths and history, the titular story “A Conjecture Regarding Labyrinth” unfolds as a lawyer, a theologian, an architect, and an actor explain their own interpretation of the origin of labyrinths to answer the question, “Who created the Cretan Labyrinth, and why?” against the backdrop of the translator’s epilogue to A Conjecture Regarding Labyrinth, a novel by the fictional writer Jean Delluc. In the signature manner of Lee Seung-U’s work that shows us the power of narrative and the infinite potential of storytelling, this story emphasizes the value of using unrestricted imagination to inspect the truth rather than a specific argument. In the preface, Lee mentions his wish to keep his writing “a world open to the universal where specificities aren’t restricted.” His writing aims to contemplate life without being confined to a specific period or situation. Now also available in Japanese from Kodansha, A Conjecture Regarding Labyrinth offers us not only the joy of reading fiction but also the wings of free imagination.