Korean poet, democracy activist Kim Ji-ha is remembered ahead of his funeral

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Published: 10 May. 2022, 15:35 Updated: 10 May. 2022, 15:42

Korean poet, democracy activist Kim Ji-ha is remembered ahead of his funeral

Poet Kim Ji-ha during a press preview of his solo exhibition featuring his ink paintings in central Seoul on Oct. 31, 2014. Kim, a Korean poet and democracy activist, died at the age of 81 on Sunday. [YONHAP]

Many literary people, artists and politicians including the new president Yoon Suk-yeol expressed their condolences and respect for Kim Ji-ha, a Korean poet and democracy activist, who died at the age of 81 on Sunday. The funeral of Kim, who was imprisoned for being critical of the authoritarian government in the 1970s, will take place on Wednesday.

Quoting a part of Kim’s iconic poem “With a Burning Thirst”(1975), Yoon wrote on his Facebook account on Monday, “With the thirst for freedom and democracy, the poet shook many Koreans up and left big traces in the history of literature.”

Renowned novelist Hwang Sok-yong told Yonhap News, “Kim fought for freedom of speech under the dictatorship in the 1970s. He did many symbolic roles.”

“He was like an icebreaker which navigates through glaciers on the sea,” famous poet Na Tae-joo said. “He was a torchbearer in the front, so he could not lay down the torch and had to move on.”

Politicians who participated in the democratization movement along with Kim in the 1970s such as the former governor of Gyeonggi province Sohn Hak-kyu; artists including the famous designer Ahn Sang-soo and literary figures including novelist Oh Jung-hee, visited Kim's memorial altar at Wonju Severance Christian Hospital in Gangwon province.

Kim died at his home with his family at his bedside at around 4 p.m. on Sunday in Wonju, 132 kilometers (82 miles) east of Seoul, after suffering from a disease for about a year, according to a source at the Toji Cultural Foundation.

"His condition abruptly deteriorated, so we called emergency services, but he just passed away," the source said.

Born in 1941, he majored in aesthetics at Seoul National University and began his career as a poet in 1969, publishing poems such as "The Yellow Earth."

He drew attention from the public but also ran afoul with the dictatorial Park Chung Hee government when he published a poem entitled "The Five Bandits" in 1970, which scathingly criticized five elite circles of Korea — chaebol, lawmakers, high-ranking public servants, generals and admirals and government ministers in a satirical way. He was arrested for penning the work.

In 1974, Kim was sentenced to death for allegedly instigating a group of students, in collusion with North Korea, to overthrow the authoritarian government in violation of the National Security Law. Kim was released 10 months later thanks to international efforts to mitigate his punishment. He was incarcerated again for writing a story about his wrongful imprisonment and served another six years.

In a 2013 retrial requested by Kim, a court delivered a not-guilty verdict, saying there was no evidence he plotted to organize the anti-government organization.

After being released in 1980, he focused on studying Eastern and Western philosophies about life and established his own ideas based on his studies in the mid-1980s.

He caused a big controversy in 1991 by writing a column that criticized a series of suicides committed by activists to protest the government and Korean activists’ culture of praising and encouraging such suicides. After the controversy, many of his democratic movement colleagues broke ties with him.

People still have mixed feelings about Kim’s 1991 column and his comments and activities since then.

Perhaps suggesting this, President Yoon wrote, “Kim is great because he, as more than a dissident poet, widened the scope of ideas about the values of freedom and life, which are universal to humankind, and commented about them, enduring misunderstanding and criticism.”

On the other hand, novelist Hwang said, “Kim suffered from the aftermath of the imprisonment and some media and politicians made use of it. I feel sorry that he passed away, while remaining in discord with society.”

In 1973, Kim married art historian Kim Young-ju, who died in 2019. She was the only daughter of Park Kyongni (1926-2008), who is one of Korea’s most renowned novelists and best known for her epic novel "The Land," or "Toji" in Korean. The Kim couple's second son currently serves as chief of the Toji Cultural Foundation.

Kim’s funeral will take place on Wednesday. He will be buried at the family gravesite in Heungeop village in Wonju, where his wife is buried. A special ceremony in memory of Kim, to be organized by Sohn and other important figures in the cultural field such as former Cultural Heritage Administration head and best-selling author Yu Hong-jun, will be held in Seoul on June 25. The organizers hope the ceremony will be a chance for reconciliation and harmony between the deceased poet and the democratic activists.

BY MOON SO-YOUNG, YONHAP [moon.soyoung@joongang.co.kr]