“Saha” by Cho Nam-joo

Cho Nam-joo (photo: Minumsa)

Set in a disturbing dystopia, Saha, Korean author Cho Nam-joo’s latest work following the wildly successful Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, tells the story of the bottom rung of a dark society. 

The story is set in a city-state only known as “Town” which 30 years previous had declared its independence after being purchased by a mysterious if not unfamiliar Chaebol-esque mega-corporation. The city has seen unprecedented economic growth and now claims to be the richest nation on earth. The Town is run by totally anonymous ministers whose draconian rule maintains a strict social order, though with the promise of constant progress and unmatched social stability.

 

The country is entirely run by seven ministers lording over the puppet Parliament, who never revealed their identities, much less engaged with the public. The country that did not belong to any international organization or regional union. The smallest, strangest country, which went by the name of Town.

 

Saha, Cho Nam-Joo, Jamie Chang (trans) (WW Norton, Simon & Schuster, September 2022)
Saha, Cho Nam-Joo, Jamie Chang (trans) (WW Norton, Simon & Schuster, September 2022)

The benefits of this progress, though, are not equally spread. The town is divided into citizens, L2s, and Sahas. Citizenship is only available to those deemed worthy enough, and even having citizen parents is insufficient for this lofty rank. L2s are temporary workers on 2-year visas, though some have lived in the Town their whole lives, and at the very bottom are the residents of the Saha Estates, the so-called Sahas, the protagonists of this novel.

 

The country that built a tall, impenetrable wall between it and the rest of the world. And the Saha Estates was a secluded island within the isolated country. Where in the world could they find a more perfect hideout?

 

The Sahas live in a perpetually condemned run-down housing estate that seems to slip under the radar of the omnipresent police state. The buildings are falling apart with no running water, and little in the way of comfort. Perhaps it is because the society needs an underclass or perhaps the Ministers have other more pressing needs, Saha Estates exist as a refuge and forgotten corner of the Town for local outcasts and those feeling mysterious pasts abroad. They eke out an existence working under the table at menial, often dangerous jobs that no one else in society would dare do.

 

Jin-kyung wasn’t even an L2, but a Saha—she wasn’t anyone or anything deserving of a category. Saha was what they were called even if they didn’t live in Saha Estates, which Jin-kyung assumed the name came from. The term seemed to say, This is as far as you get.

 

The book views this strange place through the eyes of several Sahas, including the building’s caretaker simply called “Old man”, long-time resident Grandma Granny Konnim, her adopted granddaughter Woomi, and the brother and sister pair central to the story Jin-kyung and Do-Kyung.

The story is set in motion by the mysterious death of Do-Kyung’s Citizen girlfriend Su. Though Do-Kyung is not responsible, blaming a Saha is much easier than letting the perfect artifice of the Town crumble. Jin-kyung’s struggle to help her brother and her community takes her deeper into the underbelly of this Town and reveals that the society is far darker than it seems. Her quest to exonerate her brother and protect her community takes her beyond the walls of the Saha Estates, to the very center of power in the “Town.”

 

The setting of the Town is unsettling as it bears a strong resemblance to certain modern-day societies which claim to be run for progress and social harmony by qualified technocrats but are actually dark dystopias run to benefit an elite class. Indeed many could even see parallels with Korea in the days of Park Chung-Hee or the dictatorship of Chun Doo-Hwan.

The plight of the Sahas too rings a number of uncomfortable bells, yet their solidarity in the face of their environment is perhaps the only silver lining in this story. The setting is reminiscent of many places like Favelas in Brazil, the old Kowloon Walled city, which the author claimed as inspiration, and refugee camps around the world.

Saha is another excellent work from Cho Nam-joo, just as captivating as Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982. It is a thought-provoking psychological thriller that delves into what we might find if we pull back the curtain of a seemingly perfect society.


Patrick McShane is the Editor-in-Chief of the online literary journal Hwæl-Weġ.