Writing About a Story That’s Already Ended
I’m writing about a story that has already ended.
Not because it just ended — and not because it ended a long time ago — but because a stretch of time that feels neither too long nor too short has passed.
This story is made up of my personal experiences from when I lived as an engineer in the alternate world called “Korea.”
Since time has passed, some parts of the story may be distorted by memory. And rather than recording every event exactly as it happened, I’ve chosen to adapt some parts and even create new ones where needed — simply to make the story more enjoyable to read.
In short, this is a story based on real events, with adaptation and imagination mixed in.
That’s why starting with an epilogue feels right.
After all, this is a piece written to close out a story that has already ended.
This story is, at its core, a collection of deeply personal memories.
Still, you might find moments that feel familiar to you too. The settings and events may change every time, but within Korean society, they repeat in ways that feel both different and the same. So I hope my story reaches you at a distance that feels neither too close nor too far from your own heart.
A Story Made More of Failure Than Success
Most of this story is built on failure rather than success.
There may be moments where you think, “Wow… someone really can think this short-sightedly.”
At times, the main character may feel selfish — or even pitiful.
That’s because this is a story about dreams.
To explain it more clearly:
It’s a constant repetition of choosing what feels like the most acceptable compromise in the gap between dreams and reality.
In other words, it’s a series of choices that are “rational in the short term, but irrational in the long run.”
So what do you think might be waiting at the end of all those choices?
I hope you’ll fully enjoy these bittersweet, darkly funny stories of someone else’s life.
If you would like to see the original post in korean click here
An Engineer’s Memoir in Another World is prequel of Forgetting Arc
