A Different Ending

[Swirliegirlie]

The ending was a bit abrupt for sure. But I did enjoy the final feel of the last page. I think Embon finally found his pride and was able to voice that in one sentence. I think it ended with a feeling that Embon would never give up the fight and do what he feels his right.

[Annette M]

I would have loved it if the author told us that Korea finally succeeded in their fight for independence and whether collaborators were shown any sympathy.

[theprakriti]

Yes, I always thought about a different ending for the story. First, maybe Lady Sougyon would have allowed Embon to marry the Japanese girl as she was already tensed about his marriage due to the illness. That may have given this story a more positive path about changing some cruel customs in Korean society. Also, sometimes I thought that Embon would be the one to seek a more diplomatic way to gain independence other than shedding blood and revolting. He was portrayed as an intelligent student and may have used his wisdom rather than his feeling to take revenge for his friends to save more and more people from getting hurt or being killed by the Japanese force.

[Victoria Copsey]

I quite liked the ending as it was abrupt but this was more similar to reality than a more complete end to a story. In reality, our stories stop and start, and there is never a clear ending to previous events.

[Njokime]

The ending of the story is sad. I think Embon realized that giving up was not an option, since his friends gave up their lives to that cause. I also think the death of his friends gave him more strength and determination.

[Goodness C N]

This is it! The ending was too sudden and abrupt. I expected a better ending. There were so many unanswered questions. I do not want to give out spoilers though. So I'll stop here. Point is, as popular opinion the book would have ended another way.

[athurst123]

I did hope for a better ending. Embon going home to his mother and his wife as a successful fighter for Korean independence was the ending I wanted. The author ending the story abruptly, but I think there was a purpose for it. The book ended with Embon remaining strong after losing his friends and still focusing on fighting to free Korea from the Japanese.

[Drianie]

Freeing Korea from Japanese rule is a key factor in this story. By the end of the novel, the characters didn't make any satisfying progress, and when we finish reading, the characters still have a long way to go. Since so little was achieved in this regard, the death of his friends felt a bit wasted. Embon joining the revolution was an aspect that I wanted to explore a bit earlier in the novel, allowing more room for action and character growth. I would have liked to be left with some sense of accomplishment other than Embon deciding to give his all for the cause.

[Joy Ngum]

When I finished reading this book, I was disappointed with the ending. I expected the author to continue the tale of Embon in either one of the following directions: how he completed the fight for independence and whether he was successful or not, how and when he returned to his wife and mother and their reaction to his contributions to the fight for independence, and how Mr Koo ended. I hope am not the only one that is looking foward to the second part of The Vanished.

[lavkathleen]

I did not feel like his story finished. Because others might look at this before they have finished the book, I don't want to say too much, but the ending felt abrupt and incomplete.

I thought so too, at first. But I guess it was just because, for a second, I thought he was going to fall back and give up. But then he didn't and I realized he's going to continue fighting until his very last breath. I wouldn't say that it was abrupt; actually, it was very fitting. The last events before that monologue, which were really intense, was too close to the ending. I guess that's what made it abrupt, because we were expecting a longer cool down from that.

[lavkathleen]

**SPOILERS**
I feel like the story was ended very abruptly and left room for interpretation by the reader. It is clear that Embon feels detached from his mother when he begins his journey as a political activist. This is obvious in the brief letter he sent her. I think this detachment is somewhat mitigated by the death of his friends. I think he struggles with this decision and I think he struggles more than the reader is shown, but ultimately decides to fight for a better fate for Korea.

I feel like Embon develops very strong attachments to his friends and family (but not his wife) and clings to those attachments. Indeed, he says he will continue his friends' journies in their stead as they pass away. I think there could have been more added to the story about the guilt he felt about not going with his friend, Hain, and the General. I think fighting for Korea makes him feel more attached to his dead friends.

That's a cool perspective! I thought it ended abruptly at first, too. But when I think about stories that end abruptly, they're worse than this. I think how Embon came to that decision was fitting. The only problem was that the last events before his monologue, which were really intense, were too close to the ending. A story needs a longer cool down from that... and although we already know where the story is heading after he decided to continue fighting, it would've been more satisfying to read more about it so the ending would feel less abrupt.

[Bookishkrish24]

I, too, thought the ending was an abrupt one. But, at the same time, I can't imagine a happy ending either. The author made a conscious effort to keep readers think about how the story would have proceeded.

[Serenity2010]

After reading the book it was hard to accept Embon as a revolutionary like his friends. When he got tuberculosis the hardships of Korea were forgotten for him. He discussed these hardships and experienced some of them when he was in jail yet there was no mention of them during his time of healing. The ending was too incomplete for me. An additional paragraph with a letter written to his mother, or an epilogue of him working in the Korean government something along those lines would have solidified the direction of Embon's life, based on his wealth and how he revets back to his aristocratic ways every time he was around it in the book.

[Lucille27]

I think the ending was a bit abrupt, but I don't know if I would like to change it. I feel like not knowing exactly what happens after is a good thing. We can fill in the blanks with our experience of the book. And I think it is something particular from this story, their life changed but they didn't expect the changes and sometimes that led to many other paths. In the ending, I think it works, because it depicts life's uncertainty.

[nangel04]

I too feel like the ending was slightly abrupt. However, I do like that it ends with his oath to take his country back. So I don’t know what an alternate ending would really look like for Embon. This determination he portrays is actually the opposite of how he seemed to behave when death was at his door. I think it is a bit ironic that he is the one carrying death around with him because he cannot be healed, yet it is because of this he lives. What I mean is his illness held him back from rushing off and meeting the same fate as Hain. It is actually quite symbolic and fits with this particular ending. He is defying his illness as well as defying the Japanese. The ending finds him now committed to not give in to either one no matter how they rage on.