The Plotters 

By Kim Un-Su

Translated by Sora Kim-Russell

(2010, translated 2019)

Doubleday

Kim Un-su’s The Plotters is an existential thriller set in a Korea where high-stakes conflicts, awkward scandals, and even minor gaffes on the political or financial stage are resolved by precise assassinations. Kim depicts the titular plotters as off-stage influences, never seen and never fully understood by the characters in their service. The protagonist is Reseng, an orphan who was adopted by the Racoon and brought up in the Library, one of what must be many operating centers for an ever-changing roster of researchers, technicians, drivers, surveillance personnel, doctors, and assassins – the workforce needed to execute the plotter’s orders as efficiently as possible and without leaving any evidence of their work. All assassins must kill their targets, escape unnoticed with the body of the deceased, cremate the corpse, and pulverize its teeth and bones. As a result, the emotionally isolated Reseng shares his troubles, obstacles, and anxieties with the man he sees most often: Bear, who runs a licensed pet cemetery and crematorium and provides a reliable service to professionals who need to disappear all trace of a body. The two wax philosophical over their respective occupations and lament the recent uptick in amateurish hits and childish attempts to dispose of bodies. Reseng’s life is turned upside down when he discovers a bomb in his apartment. To some extent, he understands that he, as a successful but aging operative, must himself be murdered. Nevertheless, he decides that he wants to live. He succeeds, for a time, in disappearing into the world of the average Korean citizen and even begins to imagine peace. Eventually, the society that created him closes that avenue into an ordinary life. Reseng returns, determined to do what he can to discover why he has been targeted and perhaps stop the assassin or assassins who are hunting him. The characters he encounters are unforgettable, the twists come frequently, and Kim’s portrayals of murderous set pieces and scenes of ultra-violent hand-to-hand combat are viscerally intoxicating. Kim’s Reseng is a talented and resourceful thinker and fighter, but he is not a movie superman: he makes fatal errors, fails to see characters for who they truly are, and suffers agonizing wounds to his body and his belief system. Sora Kim-Russell’s translation is highly effective at bringing to life Reseng’s sang-froid, humor, love for animals, and philosophical musings while also rendering the frantic pace of Kim’s kill-or-be-killed world in vivid and believable detail. 

“When you think about it, becoming ordinary is just as important as becoming special. I’m constantly thinking about which things are ordinary. Is it being of average height? Having an average face? Behaving in an average way? Having an average personality or job? No, it’s not that simple. There is no such thing as an average life. Whether brilliant or or mediocre, everyone is unique. Which is why it’s so complicated to love in an ordinary way, be nice in an ordinary way, meet and leave people in an ordinary way. Plus, in that sort of life there is no love, no hate, no betrayal, no hurt, and no memories. It’s dry and flavorless, colorless and odorless. But guess what? I like that kind of life. I don’t like things that are too heavy. That’s why I’m learning how to keep people from remembering me.”