Kang’s Human Acts is a poignant portrayal of the Gwangju Uprising and its aftermath, exploring the theme of state violence through the depiction of its impact on victims and their families. The novel reveals how the South Korean military regime used brutal tactics to suppress democratic protests, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians. Kang shows that state violence is not a singular horrific point in history, but can have long-lasting effects that are felt for generations to come.

Through her characters, Kang portrays the physical and psychological scars inflicted on those who survive violence. The characters’ experiences reveal how state violence is not limited to the act itself but can extend far beyond it. Eun-sook lives with survivor’s guilt, feeling guilty for human needs such as eating, and is haunted by the memory of Dong-ho: “Yet Eun-sook herself wanted nothing more than to speed up the aging process. She wanted this damned, dreary life not to drag on too long” (91). She isn’t the only one who suffers: Seon-ju refuses to allow herself to revisit the events of the past, living a lonely life buried in work, and Jin-su is so tormented by the past that he eventually dies by suicide.