"Blue Flesh"

By Lee Tae-je

Vookda

Kyobo Book Center, the largest bookstore chain in Korea, has taken steps to strengthen its content business recently by establishing an intellectual property team within the company. The company launched its very own publishing brand, Vookda, which has released its first book, “Blue Flesh.”

The sci-fi dystopian novel won the grand prize at the 10th Kyobo Book Center’s story content competition. The author, who writes under the pen name Lee Tae-je, is known to be a school teacher.

The story unfolds in the near future. Alien spores lie dormant inside a meteorite that crash lands on Earth. Upon exposure to the violent instincts of humans, these spores turn parasitic, turning the skin into a bluish tumor.

As the blue flesh grows and takes over the body, humans experience excruciating pain and eventually transform into a “blue tree.” Countries use these biological signals to manage and eradicate human violence, leading to a drastic reduction in violent crimes some six decades later.

Against this backdrop, a humanoid named Remi works as a lumberjack, chopping off these trees as ordered.

However, certain people start to display heightened resistance to the blue flesh syndrome and manage to escape an international prison. They make their way to the Korean Peninsula, where a solar eclipse holds the promise of liberation from the pain.

The book provokes profound contemplation on human nature, prompting readers to question the innate human nature, morality, conscience and the origin of evil.