Get Schooled / True Education — Chapter 73¶
Complete detailed sequential transcription¶
Supplied source: Chapter 073.zip
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Reconstructed reader length: 17 pages.
Opening — A family searches for paradise¶
The chapter begins from the perspective of Kyu-jeong, a boy whose family recently moved from Seoul to an isolated rural island village.
His father had worked extremely hard in the city and dreamed of a quiet country life. He sold or abandoned almost everything and used borrowed money to build a large house in the village.
Kyu-jeong remembers arriving with high expectations. The scenery was beautiful, the house looked grand, and the family believed they had escaped Seoul’s competition.
That optimism disappears almost immediately.
“THIS PLACE WAS HELL, NOT PARADISE.”
The village development fee¶
The village president and senior residents visit the new family.
They demand a “village development fund” of approximately 30 million won.
Kyu-jeong’s father had heard about such fees before moving, but expected something closer to three million won. He explains that the house itself was built with debt and that he does not possess the demanded amount.
The elders treat the payment as the price of being accepted as a resident.
When the family refuses, the village begins excluding them from ordinary life.
An elderly woman blocks the road leading to their home and claims the land was historically used by her ancestors. Kyu-jeong’s mother protests that she must take her son to school, but the villager tells them to move elsewhere if they dislike the obstruction.
The family learns that property ownership does not matter when the surrounding community collectively decides someone is an outsider.
Daily harassment¶
The retaliation becomes constant.
Visitors enter the family’s home without invitation and demand snacks. Manure or waste is placed near the property. Rumors spread that the family stole money from a company and fled Seoul.
The villagers mock the house as proof of criminal wealth.
Kyu-jeong’s parents regret moving, but his school life becomes even worse.
The village head’s third son, Koo Young-cheol, leads the bullying.
He calls Kyu-jeong a nonresident, a tourist, and “a piece of shit.” He attacks him physically and tells him to remain where he was left.
Kyu-jeong initially believes passing farmers will rescue him. Instead, adults smile and say the boys are merely playing.
The entire community treats Young-cheol’s violence as normal.
“BULLYING HERE IS DIFFERENT FROM SEOUL.”
“NOT ONLY THE KIDS AND TEACHERS, BUT THE WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD.”
“NO ONE WAS ON OUR SIDE.”
The one person who helps¶
There is one exception: teacher Son Hye-seung.
She speaks in a Seoul dialect and was transferred to the island around the same time Kyu-jeong’s family arrived.
She finds him injured and asks whether he is all right.
She acknowledges that the village children are cruel but encourages him to endure until he finds a friend. She says she will try too, because she is also an outsider.
Kyu-jeong recognizes that she is suffering in the same way.
Parents drag Son Hye-seung away from school to work on farms or clean facilities. At village parties, she is forced to drink even though she cannot tolerate alcohol.
Because the village president has connections to a National Assembly member, neither the teacher nor the family feels safe challenging the abuse.
A brief refuge at sunset¶
Kyu-jeong and Son Hye-seung occasionally sit together watching the sunset.
She calls the view beautiful. For the boy, those conversations are the only moments when he can breathe.
The peace ends when senior villagers find them.
The village head invites Son Hye-seung to another drinking gathering and tells her that the elders like her.
She reluctantly agrees.
She promises Kyu-jeong that Young-cheol will be told not to bother him.
Her strained smile makes clear that she has almost no power to keep that promise.
Kyu-jeong carries the money¶
Kyu-jeong’s parents decide they cannot continue living under siege.
They gather roughly one year’s living expenses and place the money in an envelope.
His mother asks what will happen if they continue enduring, pointing out that Kyu-jeong returns from school every day with damaged clothing and injuries.
They tell their son to deliver the money directly to the village head so Young-cheol will see that the family has finally submitted.
At the village head’s home, Kyu-jeong accidentally witnesses something disturbing involving Son Hye-seung and the elders.
The village head, Koo Man-chun, catches him.
Kyu-jeong promises repeatedly that he will not tell anyone.
Koo Man-chun answers that nothing important happened by village standards.
He declares:
“THE LAWS OF THIS VILLAGE… IS ME!”
“EVERYTHING I, KOO MAN-CHUN, SAY BECOMES THE LAW OF THIS VILLAGE!”
The assertion explains how every institution on the island has been absorbed into personal authority.
Kyu-jeong decides to expose the village¶
Kyu-jeong escapes with one conclusion:
“THIS VILLAGE IS NOT NORMAL!”
He promises Son Hye-seung that he will reveal what is happening.
He believes there must be people outside the island who are stronger than the elders who imagine themselves above Korean law.
The chapter closes on his determination to contact outside help and expose the village’s reality.
Chapter-level observations¶
1. The village controls belonging through money¶
The development fee is not a normal community contribution. It is a test of submission and a justification for collective punishment.
2. Bullying is upheld by adults¶
Young-cheol’s violence succeeds because teachers, farmers, elders, and officials all treat outsiders as legitimate targets.
3. Son Hye-seung and Kyu-jeong mirror one another¶
Both came from Seoul, both are isolated, and both are punished for refusing to become obedient village property.
4. Local custom has replaced law¶
Koo Man-chun’s declaration is the chapter’s governing idea: village authority is treated as superior to national law.