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“The Leper,” by Lee Chang-dong | The New Yorker

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The prosecutor spoke without emotion: “Your father’s been charged with espionage. Spying under orders from the North Korean puppet regime.”

Save this story Save this story . . . to survive, to hang on, waiting for the new world to dawn, what can you do but become a leper nobody in the world would deign to touch? — From “Windy Evening,” by Kim Seong-dong. Before I knocked, I took a moment to calm my breathing. But even a couple of deep breaths did nothing to lessen my anxiety, and, to the sound of voices on the other side, I carefully pushed open the thick door. A female clerk sat at a desk just inside. “How may I help you?” she asked. The room wasn’t as large as I’d imagined. Directly in my line of sight from the door, I could see

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