Pestbook recently announced that Hong Ok-pyo's 회고록, '20 Hours: A Portrait of a 세대 Who Worked, Raised, and Protected,' has climbed to 18th place on YES24's diary/epistolary bestseller list. The book vividly chronicles 88 years in the 인생 of a mother who navigated Korea's 격동 현대사, including the 일제강점기 and the 한국전쟁, to protect her 가족. Far from being merely a 개인 account, it is hailed as a 헌사 to all mothers who endured that 시대 and a testament to the remarkable 승리 of maintaining 희망 amidst 역경.
The Book's Birth and Bestseller Status
Pestbook announced that Hong Ok-pyo's 회고록, '20 Hours: A Portrait of a 세대 Who Worked, Raised, and Protected,' has reached 18th place on YES24's diary/epistolary bestseller list. The book details 88 years of a 여성's arduous life, spent working up to 20 hours a day to single-handedly support her 자녀 and in-laws through turbulent times, including the 일제강점기 and the 한국전쟁.
This 회고록, compiled by her second daughter, Kim Jin-hyang, from Hong Ok-pyo's 육필 원고, was published to honor her mother's 인생 following her passing in 2024. Beyond simply recounting 고통과 고난, the book holds profound 의미 as a 헌사 that documents the hidden histories and noble sacrifices of all mothers who quietly safeguarded a 세대.
A Life Through Tumultuous Modern History
Born in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, in 1937, Hong Ok-pyo experienced 대한민국's 현대사 firsthand. At the tender age of 14, when the 한국전쟁 broke out, she began her 생존 투쟁, even boiling deceased chickens to feed her 가족.
A major 전환점 in her life occurred during the January 21 사태 in 1968. When her 남편, a police officer, died in an 사고 during a 지방 순시, 31-year-old Hong Ok-pyo was left solely responsible for ten 식구, including her eight-year-old eldest son, four young 자녀 in total, her 57-year-old mother-in-law, and her young brother-in-law and sister-in-law. To support them, she endured arduous 노동, working up to 20 hours a day. Her 남편's 순직 was not officially recognized until 10 years later, in 1978.
While managing her 가계, Hong also actively engaged in 지역사회 service. She served as 회장 of the Saemaul Women's Association starting in 1972, 회장 of the Cheonan City 여성단체협의회 from 2003 to 2006, and 회장 of the Cheonan branch of the Korea Widows' Association for Fallen Soldiers from 1978 to 2015, leading an exemplary 사회생활. For these 공로, she received numerous accolades, including a 대통령 표창, and her name is 기록 in the '한국인사명감'.
The Moving Comfort of a True Record
The Pestbook 편집부 emphasized that the book is not merely a tale of 고난 but a profound 승리 of an 인간 who persevered even on the brink of despair, and a hidden 역사 of the 여성 who endured that 시대. They commented that despite imperfect spelling and raw 문장, the 저자's 육필 기록 contain a 진실 and weight of 인생 that no 소설 could imitate.
Online bookstore readers who read the book expressed deep 공감, leaving 감상평 such as, "It's sometimes difficult to read about her complete 헌신 to her 가족, but it's also incredibly 동기부여," and "The figure of '20 hours a day' vividly illustrates the intensity of the 저자's 인생, and reading it sent shivers down my spine." The 출판사 added that this 기록 would serve as a 처방전 위로 for readers burdened by 인생's 고난.
