I’ve been feeling it firsthand these past few days.
The controversy over Two Histories has intensified in Germany.
And that controversy… didn’t stop in Germany; it spread across Europe.
The first place to react was the website.
I had uploaded Crossroads in English a while ago.
Of course, after getting Munich’s approval.
Although there was no comment system to know for sure,
the number of payments on the English page increased dramatically.
Crossroads isn’t the kind of work that would interest English-speaking readers.
It was probably the Europeans, including Germans, who flocked to see it.
And my guess wasn’t wrong.
I received an unexpected phone call.
― Hello, this is Jean Stephan.
Jean Stephan, an employee from the French Libre Publishing House.
I was thrilled by his call.
“Stephan! It’s been a while! How’s everyone doing?”
― Of course. I heard you recently published a fantastic piece in Germany? Even in Paris, the publishing world is buzzing about the book.
“Two Histories, right?”
― Yes. Till Berkel is a well-known philosopher in France. His interview was so provocative, and… didn’t you also add a brilliant remark? It even made it onto the French news. It’s all the talk.
It wasn’t surprising.
A German philosopher mentioned “Nazis,”
and a Korean author compared some Germans to “Judas.”
I knew Germany was still in an uproar over it.
But how would other European countries react?
I was curious.
“I’m curious about the public opinion on Crossroads. How do people in France and other European countries feel?”
― France can’t represent all of Europe, but… in the French literary world, they’re saying Crossroads presents a new perspective on history.
“A new perspective…?”
― The inner wounds left by war. External wounds can be healed, but inner wounds can never be repaired, as you showed. The contradictory feelings you described in Crossroads were very striking to me. The emotions of having to choose between one’s country and personal desires, feelings that persist even today.
Jean Stephan wasn’t free from those feelings himself.
Like many Korean immigrants, he likely felt a complex emotion about Korea.
― Of course, countries in Europe that suffered from colonial experiences or the Second World War can deeply relate to that emotion.
“If that’s true, I couldn’t ask for more.”
― It’s clear. Believe me. Germany is noisy, but many European countries are genuinely surprised in a positive way by your work. A piece that strikes at the heart of European history… who would have expected that from the East?
“Thank you for saying that. I’ve been quite troubled lately.”
That was true.
Since the newspaper interview, I have felt like I was on a chopping block.
I thought I had said what I needed to say, and I didn’t regret it… but the uncertainty about how much support I would get.
As a human, one can’t be free from such feelings.
But why did Jean Stephan contact me?
He couldn’t just be relaying France’s reaction.
Just as I was wondering, Jean Stephan spoke.
― By the way… you’ll be publishing Crossroads in France, won’t you?
Ah.
Now I understood.
Jean Stephan was reaching out to discuss a publishing contract.
In other words, a sales call.
Well, if it was this thoughtfully done, I’d welcome it.
I responded playfully.
“Of course, I was planning to publish it with Libre, but… is it possible that Libre had other plans?”
― Ah! Hahaha… No, of course not. We’ve been planning to publish your work all along. I just wanted to confirm. Just confirming.
He answered with a bright voice, though flustered.
Jean Stephan, who had successfully made a sales pitch by accident.
He added, “Don’t worry about Europe,”
and cheerfully ended the call.
Not just Libre, but several other European publishers had also contacted me.
All of them wanted to publish Crossroads.
I consulted with Jihoon and chose the publishers.
Some of them had contracts with Till Berkel as well.
Since The Black Castle and Crossroads go hand in hand,
we prioritized those publishers.
Now, the only remaining place… was Japan.
“I feel like I’ve been waiting a long time.”