Resistance poet the late Kim Ji-ha's funeral procession... 'Eternal rest' beside his wife

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo Mideum] The funeral ceremony for Kim Jiha (real name Kim Young-il), a resistance poet well known for opposing the dictatorship regime, will be held on the 11th.

The funeral ceremony for poet Kim Jiha will be solemnly conducted at 9 a.m. that day at the Yonsei University Wonju Severance Christian Hospital funeral hall in Wonju, Gangwon Province, with family members and figures from the cultural and artistic circles mourning. The deceased passed away on the 8th at the age of 81.

The deceased’s final journey will be accompanied by his two sons, writer Kim Wonbo and Kim Sehee, chairman of the Land Culture Foundation, along with others who had connections with him during his lifetime.

After cremation at 10 a.m., he is scheduled to be laid to rest at the family burial ground in Maeji-ri, Heungup-myeon, Wonju City, where his wife Kim Youngju is buried.

Born in 1941 in Mokpo, Jeonnam, the deceased moved to Wonju, Gangwon Province in 1954 and graduated from Wonju Middle School.

He then attended Joongdong High School and graduated from Seoul National University’s Department of Aesthetics in 1966. In 1969, he officially debuted as a poet by publishing five poems including "Hwangtotgil" and "Rain" in the magazine "Siin" (Poet).

In 1970, he was imprisoned for his satirical poem "Ojeok" (Five Bandits) targeting state power. In 1974, he was sentenced to death on charges of masterminding the Mincheonghakryeon incident but had his sentence commuted to life imprisonment. He was released in 1980 under a suspension of sentence, becoming a symbol of democratization resisting dictatorship and a leading literary figure in the nationalist literature camp.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.