(English) From a Foreign Country

Hwang Seon-ho works closely under the mayor of a metropolitan city. The city is a powerful area where many assume the next mayor of the city will become the next presidential candidate. This is why the mayor desperately needs to be reelected. However, with the election only few months away, a bribery scandal breaks out. Seon-ho suggests to the taskforce that one of them take all the blame and disappear for about 6 months, just until they win the election. He did not expect that the one” would be him. 

When asked where he wants to go, Seon-ho answers Democratic Republic of Bo Bo”. It is a country that suffered a long civil war and is still under military regime, a country suffering serious religious conflicts. The sky of this city is clear and the sunlight is pure.” Reminding the first sentence from the description of Democratic Republic of Bo Bo” from a book of a travel writer Kim Kyeong-ho which Seon-ho’s mother published, he disguises under the name Kang Jin” and enters Democratic Republic of Bo Bo”. But soon, the Bo Bo government declares a decree. Its targets are foreigners whose purpose of entry is unclear, or those who does not have a confirmed departure date or whereabouts while in the country. Unfortunately Seon-ho is also affected by the decree. The only way to stay in Bo Bo as a foreigner is to receive a permit from the government, but even before he is issued the permit, the hotel kicks him out for being a foreigner. 

Seeing Seon-ho in trouble, Phil who is the owner of a local pub suggests that he should look for Jean”. When Seon-ho finds Jean on top of an overpass, he feels a sort of a deja vu. He soon recognizes that Jean appeared in one of the last photos the travel writer Kim Kyeong-ho sent. The sentence that reminded Hwang of Bo Bo” was also from one of Kyung-ho’s letters. The place that Jean leads Hwang to, Friends House,” also appears in one of Kyeong-ho’s letters. Does the two know each other? Was it fate, not coincident that Seon-ho decided to come to Bo Bo? At Friends House,” people, who have been struggling for survival but were rejected and forgotten, have formed their own community. Staying there, Seon-ho starts to look for traces of Kim Kyeong-ho. Then one day, his old colleague Song” calls, saying something unexpected had happened….

(Japanese) 異国で

ファン・ソンホは、ある広域市の市長に仕える側近である。選挙を数ヶ月後に控えた時点で、再選を狙う市長のスキャンダルが浮上し、ファン・ソンホは責任者の一時的な失踪というアイデアを思いつく。アイデアの主人公は結局ファン・ソンホ自身となり、彼は独裁国家である「ボボ民主共和国」へ旅立つ。しかし、入国後間もなく、ボボ共和国政府は部外者の滞在を許可しないという布告を出し、ファン・ソンホはホテルから突然のチェックアウトを通告される。『異国で』は、一人の人物の人生の軌跡に潜入し、去った場所の惨状が帰ってきた異国でも同じように起こる、共同体の醜い実態を乗り越えようとする人間の姿を描いている。

(Chinese) 在异国他乡

Hwang Seonho是侍奉某广域市市长的亲信。 虽然市场瞄准大选候选人,试图成功连任,但与建设企业的贿赂丑闻却浮出水面。 Hwang Seonho作为解决方案,提出了有人推翻一切,暂时消失的想法,最终自己实施了该计划。 虽然他选择了突然想起的"步步民主共和国",但没过多久,步步共和国政府下达了驱逐入境目的不确定或活动和出国日程模糊的外部人的布告令, Hwang Seonho也从酒店接到了退房通知。 在无法回到韩国的情况下，他想起了让选择"步步共和国"的旅行作家Kim gyung ho另外,酒店附近的酒吧老板菲尔劝他去"jang"看看。 在天桥上见到的张某把他带到了无处可去的人聚居的"朋友家" 他们互相称对方为朋友，组成共同体生活在一起， Hwang Seonho开始寻找笼罩在神秘面纱中的金京浩的痕迹。

황선호는 한 광역시의 시장을 모시는 측근이다. 선거가 몇 개월 남지 않은 시점, 재선을 노리는 시장의 뇌물 스캔들이 불거지고 이를 무마하기 위해 황선호는 책임자의 완벽한 한시적 실종이라는 아이디어를 낸다. 하지만 아이디어의 주인공은 결국 황선호 자신이 되고, 그는 모든 책임을 뒤집어쓰고 국부독재가 이뤄지고 있는 ‘보보민주공화국’을 택해 떠난다. 그러나 입국 후 얼마 되지 않아 보보공화국 정부는 외부인이 나라에 머무르는 걸 허락하지 않겠다는 포고령을 내리고, 황선호 역시 호텔로부터 갑작스러운 체크아웃 통보를 받게 된다. 

《이국에서》는 떠날 수밖에 없는 한 인물의 삶의 궤적에 침투해, 떠난 곳의 재난적 상황이 떠나 온 이국에서도 동일하게 벌어지는, 공동체의 추악한 실태를 극복하려는 인간의 모습을 그리고 있다.