The Plotters Quotes

“Black tea is steeped in imperialism. That's what gives it its flavor. Anything this flavorful has to be hiding an incredible amount of carnage.”
― Un-su Kim, The Plotters

“Reseng was shocked at how treacherous life was. It didn't matter how high you rose, how invincible your body was, or how firmly you clung to greatness, because all of it could vanish with a tiny, split-second mistake.”
― Un-su Kim, The Plotters

“But just as a vaccine company facing bankruptcy will ultimately survive not by making the world's greatest vaccine but, rather, the world's worst virus, so, too, did bodyguard and security firms need the world's most evil terrorists in order to prosper, not the greatest security experts. That was capitalism, Hanja understood how the world could curl around and bite its own tail like the uroboros serpent. And he knew how to translate that into business and extract the maximum revenue. There was no better business model than owning both the virus and the vaccine. With one hand you parceled out fear and instability, and with the other you guaranteed safety and peace. A business like that would never go under.”
― Un-su Kim, The Plotters

“Any life not spent asking yourself what you truly loved was a cowardly one.”
― Un-su Kim, The Plotters

“In my opinion, a man ought to be able to choose a death that gives his life a dignified ending.”
― Un-su Kim, The Plotters

“In the end, none of us can leave the place we know best, no matter how dirty and disgusting it is. We go back to our own filthy origins because it’s a filth we know. Putting up with that filth is easier than facing the fear of being tossed into the wider world, and the loneliness that is as deep and wide as that fear.”
― Un-su Kim, The Plotters

“The oldest human skull in existence has a hole in it from a spear. Prostitution is a much older profession than farming. The first son in the Bible was also a murderer. For thousands of years, human achievements were only possible through war—including civilization, art, religion, and even peace. Do you know what that means? About the human race? It means that from the very beginning human beings have been plotting to kill one another in order to live.”
― Un-su Kim, The Plotters

“The most dangerous adversary was a pazzo, a madman. A person who thought they had nothing to lose, who wanted nothing from others and asked nothing of him- or herself, who behaved in ways that defied common sense, who quietly followed her or his own strange principles and stubborn convictions, which were both inconceivable and unbelievable.”
― Un-su Kim, The Plotters

“People think villains like me are going to hell. But that’s not true. Villains are already in hell. Living every moment in darkness without so much as a single ray of light in your heart, that’s hell. Shivering in terror, wondering when you’ll become a target when the assassins will appear. True hell is living in a constant state of fear without even knowing that you’re in hell.”
― Un-su Kim, The Plotters

“Whoever we are, we all have to fight our own battles for happiness.”
― Un-su Kim, The Plotters

“Reading books will doom you to a life of fear and shame.”
― Un-su Kim, The Plotters

“While she studied, he lay down and read Demons by Dostoyevsky. It was a big book, and a boring one. ’Is that fun to read?” she asked. “The characters have really long names. For instance, the main character’s mother is Varvara Petrovna Stavrogina, and his tutor is Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky. Each time a new person appears, it takes well over a line just to say their name. So, no, it’s not that fun. Not with this many names to remember.”
― Un-su Kim, The Plotters

“You might not think of beer as a breakfast drink, but in fact it’s perfect. If knocking back a can of beer after a hard day’s work makes you feel refreshed, rewarded, and relaxed, then a can of beer in the morning is about feeling melancholic, fuzzy-headed, improper, and refusing to act like a responsible adult just because the sun’s come up.”
― Un-su Kim, The Plotters

“Everything people say about whales is a lie. Because everything they say comes from a book. But whales don't live in books, they live in the ocean.”
― Un-su Kim, The Plotters

“He believed that people should emulate whales. He said that people had grown as small and crafty as rats , and that the days of taking slow, huge, beautiful strides had vanished, The age of giants was over.”
― Un-su Kim, The Plotters

“That's life. Not much to it. Just one big stinking, filthy squalid mess. But once you get a taste of it - ah! Then it's not so bad. Sometimes it's even delicious.”
― Un-su Kim, The Plotters

“They say the older you get, the more you're supposed to keep your purse strings open and your mouth shut.”
― Un-su Kim, The Plotters

“People always end up resembling that which they hate the most.”
― Kim Un-su, The Plotters

“ثمة ثقب من صُنع رمح في أقدم جمجمة بشرية في الوجود. الدعارة مِهنَةٌ أقدم بكثير من الزراعة. الابن الاول في الكتاب المقدَّس كان قاتلًا أيضًا. لآلاف السنين، كانت الإنجازات البشرية مُمكِنَة فقط من خلال الحروب- بما في ذلك الحضارة، والفن، والدين، وحتى السلام. هل تعرف ماذا يعني هذا بشأن الجنس البشري؟ هذا يعني أنه منذ بدء الخليقة، كان البشر يُخطِّطون لِقَتل بعضهم البعض من أجل البقاء. إمَّا بقتل خصومهم، أو بالاستعانة بقاتلٍ ليقوم بذلك عِوَضًا عنهم. هذه هي الطريقة التي يعيش بها البشر. تحمَّلَت البشرية دائمًا هذه الاستماتة الذاتية؛ هذا الموت الخلوي المبرمج. إنها الحقيقة الأصدق لعالمنا. هكذا بدأنا، وهذه هي الطريقة التي عشنا بها كل هذا الوقت. من المحتمل أن تكون هذه هي الطريقة التي سنعيش بها دائمًا حتى النهاية. لأنه لا أحد يعرف كيف يُوقف تلك الحلقة بعدُ. وهكذا، لا بد أن ينتهي الأمر بأحدهم بأن يلعب دور القَوَّاد أو المومس أو القاتل المأجور. ومن المضحك أن هذا ما يجب أن يحدث للإبقاء على عجلة الحياة دائرة".”
― Un-su Kim, The Plotters

“Trên đời này nếu muốn sống sót thì cần phải có xúc tu dài và nhạy cảm, nhưng xúc tu nhạy lại không thể phân biệt được thông tin cần thiết và thông tin không cần thiết. Những xúc tu cứ ngày một dài ra và rồi nỗi bất an lấp loáng ở cuối những xúc tu sẽ cuốn lấy bóp nghẹt chúng ta.”
― Kim Un-Su, The Plotters

“Trong xương sọ cổ xưa nhất của loài người có vết đâm bằng lao. So với nông dân thì gái điếm và ma cô là nghề nghiệp còn lâu đời hơn. Trong Kinh Thánh, việc đứa con trai đầu tiên của Chúa làm là giết người. Trong suốt vài nghìn năm sau đó, loài người vẫn chỉ có thể đạt được thứ gì đó thông qua chiến tranh. Văn minh, nghệ thuật, tôn giáo, thậm chí là hòa bình. Mày hiểu ý tao chứ? Loài người chính là thế đấy”
― Kim Un-Su, The Plotters

“At some point, you have to stop poking your stick around in the dirt and choose a spot to dig a well.”
― Kim Un-su, The Plotters

“You can get much further with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone.’ ”
― Kim Un-su, The Plotters

“The Mafia had a saying: The most dangerous adversary was a pazzo, a madman. A person who thought they had nothing to lose, who wanted nothing from others and asked nothing of him- or herself, who behaved in ways that defied common sense, who quietly followed her or his own strange principles and stubborn convictions, which were both inconceivable and unbelievable. A person like that would not be cowed by any formidable power.”
― Kim Un-su, The Plotters