Hello, I am the novelist, The Most Powerful. Today, I would like to discuss the work Jenga by author Jung Jin-young, along with topics related to Korean society and integrity. Since it is a recently released work, the title might still be unfamiliar to many. However, I believe this novel, set in Korea in 2021, eloquently addresses why we should pursue integrity, why it is not easy, and what we can do about it. 

First, let me introduce the author. Jung Jin-young debuted in 2011, and this year marks exactly ten years of his literary career. His notable work includes the novel Silence Warning, published in 2018, which was also adapted into a TV drama featuring actors Hwang Jung-min and YoonA on JTBC.

The drama Hush is based on the original work Silence Warning by writer Jung Jin-young. He is an active creator and has released a new work this year titled Valentine's Day. I also know that he plans to publish another full-length novel later this year. His range of genres is broad, as he writes everything from literary fiction to romance novels. He has a deep understanding of music and has also released albums as a musician, in addition to serving as a selection committee member for the Korean Popular Music Awards. However, I personally believe that the strengths of this author are best reflected in his works like Silence Warning and Jenga, which are authentic social novels. It is a rare talent among Korean writers to produce such novels today, making his ability even more valuable. Additionally, his focus on full-length novels rather than short stories is a significant competitive edge in the current Korean literary scene.

Oh, this might be related to the author Jeong Seong-young, because he worked as a newspaper reporter for a long time. He has experience as a reporter in the social and industrial sectors, which allowed him to explore every corner of Korean society. This experience must have been a burden in his role as a chief editor. In particular, his background as a social and industrial reporter likely helped him a lot. 

Now, what kind of novel is this? This work is inspired by a motif from a disliked story. Before I delve into the plot of the book, I think it’s good to briefly introduce the background. Eight years ago, in 2013, there was an incident that stirred up Korean society: the nuclear power plant supply scandal. This incident is actually quite complicated. Among the issues, the most criticized was the corruption of a cable company that is a subsidiary of a chaebol group. This cable company was the supplier of cables for the nuclear power plants, but...

The dedicated cable received a defective rating from a Canadian testing agency. Consequently, the company colluded with the ordering agency, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, the approval agency, Korea Electric Power Technology, and the credit firm to forge test reports to represent the cable as compliant. As a result, six nuclear power plants were equipped with defective cables, leading to significant harm for those involved in this incident. The individuals responsible faced criminal penalties, with some receiving prison sentences of up to ten years. The company that caused the issue has ceased operations and has delisted from the stock market. The group's chairman issued a public apology, and shareholders bought the company's stocks with their personal funds. They decided to allocate 100 billion won as compensation to be used for the resolution of the situation. However, the most significant loss is to our citizens, as the faulty cables forced the shutdown of operational nuclear power plants, halting three reactors in total.

There was a report that the operation of three newly constructed nuclear power plants has been postponed, resulting in losses exceeding 2 trillion won. Due to defective cables worth 18 billion won, there will be social losses exceeding six times that amount. This memory will be published under the title Tomorrow's Line. The main characters include employees and related individuals from various departments. Contrary to readers' expectations, there are no heroes among them. You could consider almost all the characters in this novel to be villains. Now, shall we take a look at the plot of the novel? 

This work progresses in some parts like a mystery and in others like a thriller. The story unfolds from multiple perspectives without a specific main character. I’ve organized it a bit to fit today’s theme, and since it’s a recently published work that is genuinely enjoyable to read, I…

I won't reveal the ending. The story begins tomorrow with the purchasing team. The team's manager ordered parts without consulting the collaborating company, which led to an accident. The manager wants to help, so he offers to cover the loss with his personal money. However, the team leader can't possibly come up with that money, so he posts his story on the company's anonymous bulletin board. The manager, feeling slighted by this, begins to harbor resentment. While reviewing the purchasing team leader's work, he discovers signs of embezzlement. The purchasing team manager informs the management support team and requests an investigation. The management support team is currently undergoing disciplinary action and is not coming to work. The purchasing team manager promises to help the management support team deputy if this situation goes well, leading the deputy to investigate the embezzlement allegations against the purchasing team leader.

However, as this became known, other strange facts were discovered. The supplier responsible for the key component known as the nuclear power cable compound had recently changed to a startup company. The team leader of the purchasing team and the head of the management support team looked into the background of this change. It turned out that this issue was entangled with a huge supply corruption involving the company president and executives. The upper management of the company had their own excuses. The supplier that had been providing the key component went bankrupt, which meant that they could not receive the components needed to meet the delivery schedule for the contracts signed with the nuclear power plant. Tomorrow, the management team was planning to cancel the contract, but instead, they received a proposal from the nuclear power plant saying, If we are delayed, it would be problematic for us too. Let's just use components made by another company instead. Thus, the original supplier of this key component...

The company suggested that we simply write the test results as they are, which was fine up to that point. However, the parts that were received were of such poor quality that it has become a significant issue. Right now, the executive team is desperately trying to manage the situation. The team leader of the purchasing department, who was digging into this suspicion, is at a loss because the confidential information he has learned is too substantial. It could potentially lead to the downfall of the entire company. The purchasing team leader is now trying to distance himself from the situation, but things are not going according to his wishes. This story is really interesting; it develops painfully over time. The characters are not your typical villains. In a way, they resemble people we might see around us. Each has their own selfish desires and is swayed by temptation, but none are committing grand, evil crimes in pursuit of profit; they are just ordinary citizens.

However, as the story progresses, these characters become increasingly trapped in a quagmire. Before this work was published, the author Jeong Jin-young initially thought of the title Abijigok, which refers to one of the most painful hells described in Buddhism. The title Abijigok fits well with the work because all the characters find themselves in almost hellish situations. When the book was published, the title chosen was Jaemiga, but I also think this title suits the content well. The characters in the novel struggle to escape their circumstances in any way they can. They are like the second baseman, Rabshigo, who tries to pull out a block from the bottom in a Jenga game, as if there’s nothing on top. However, the more they try, the more the entire block stack collapses downward. In fact, the moment the Jenga game starts, a collapse is already inevitable.

You know, when playing a game, it's fun, and winners and losers are determined. I thought of that block stack as a metaphor for a community we are all part of. What do you think? In the moment this game takes place, everyone has no choice but to participate. Doesn't that carry a certain meaning? In reality, the situation on the front lines is like that. The brilliance of Jenga lies in how realistically and thoroughly it depicts that process. The characters continually engage in actions that worsen their situations. Why do they act that way? It's because they have already made poor moves before and are now stuck because of them. In the latter part of the story, one character says, Someone told me that life never gets tangled up in one go; it gradually becomes tangled. That is exactly where we are now; the results speak for themselves. Absurdity tends to gradually entangle itself.

There are times when getting involved is difficult from the beginning. In that regard, I think that integrity is the best safety device. Often, integrity can seem to conflict with immediate benefits. You might wonder what benefits you gain from being honest. It's similar to thinking about what good comes from wearing a helmet while you're buckled up in a seatbelt. Until an accident happens, it may not be apparent. Life starkly reveals this aspect. Readers will likely find themselves identifying with the situations of various characters as the story progresses. Honestly, after the midpoint, it becomes difficult to argue against the choices made by those characters. This is because in a game that is already set to collapse, you should have played it correctly from the start. You might even decide to stop the game with a bold decision, fully aware of the impending disaster.

In the conclusion of Jenga, Mori makes a choice that ultimately proves to be fatal, leaving him with just three seconds. This is because many people around him are questioning the moral legitimacy of his character. I believe this is also one of the lessons from Soto. In our social lives, we often want to manipulate others according to our wishes. For those with power or money, this is not a difficult task. But how can we achieve this with just enough love? We can only rely on logic and zero-sum situations. However, if that justification lacks moral grounding, it becomes problematic. A significant part of that morality is integrity. Integrity serves as a safeguard for ourselves and a means to influence others. Reflecting on the stories shared yesterday and today, I wonder if they sounded persuasive. Reading Jenga by writer Jeong Jin-young, I feel a certain sense of resonance.

I encourage you to take a look at the money you are interested in as much as possible. Thank you.

[청렴 북콘서트] 장강명 소설가의 선택! 청렴 필독서 "젠가" 를 읽어드립니다

반부패 컨트롤타워이자 국민고충해결 주무부처인 국민권익위원회의 공식 유튜브채널 '#권익비전'입니다. 
국민권익위의 모든 정책 활동과 성과, 비하인드 들이 있습니다. 
청렴한 대한민국이 되는 그날까지! 모든 국민의 어려움이 해결되는 그날까지!!
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뿐만 아니라 
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모든 것이 총망라된 권익비전! 많은 사랑 부탁드립니다

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[청렴 북콘서트] 장강명 소설가의 선택! 청렴 필독서 "젠가" 를 읽어드립니다

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