Memorial Ceremony for Late Poet Kim Ji-ha's 49th Day... Hwang Sok-yong and Kim Yong-ok Share Anecdotes About the Deceased

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo Mideum] A memorial ceremony honoring the literary legacy and achievements of the late poet Kim Jiha (real name Kim Young-il), who passed away last month, will be held on the occasion of his 49th day memorial.

The Kim Jiha Poet Memorial Cultural Festival Promotion Committee announced on the 21st that the memorial cultural festival for the late poet will be held at 3 p.m. on the 25th at the Cheondogyo Daegyo-dang in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Acquaintances who interacted with Kim Jiha during his lifetime will attend the festival. Among them are Lee Boo-young, chairman of the Foundation for Free Press Practice, and writer Hwang Sok-yong. Also present will be the poet’s Japanese acquaintances, including Ms. Miyata Marie, editor-in-chief of the Japanese literary magazine "Umi," who led the campaign to save Kim during the 1970s when he was repeatedly imprisoned and released. The event will be hosted by former Cultural Heritage Administration head Yoo Hong-jun.

The program will begin with ritual ceremonies such as Namnyeok Ttang Salpuri, followed by a storytelling session introducing Kim’s life trajectory including his democratization movement, life movement, and people’s cultural movement. There will also be readings of memorial poems, as well as song and dance performances.

A session where writer Hwang Sok-yong and scholar Kim Yong-ok (Do-ol) share anecdotes about Kim Jiha is also scheduled. Literary critic Yeom Mu-ung and environmental activist Choi Yeol will respectively explain the poet’s poetic world and his life movement.

Lee Boo-young, who serves as the committee’s standing promotion chairman, said, "Those who dreamed of liberation, democracy, and life peace on the Korean Peninsula alongside poet Kim Jiha, please pray for his soul. If you have any emotional burdens, I hope you can release them."

Born in 1941 in Mokpo, Jeollanam-do, Kim graduated from Seoul National University’s Department of Aesthetics in 1966 and debuted in 1969 by publishing five poems including "Hwangtotgil" and "Rain" in the magazine "Siin" (Poet).

In the 1970s, he published a series of resistance poems criticizing the then-dictatorial regime, including "Ojeok" and "Burning Thirst," which led to his imprisonment. In 1974, he was even sentenced to death as a suspected mastermind behind the Mincheonghakryeon incident.

From the 1980s onward, he devoted himself to establishing the philosophy of life and published poems encompassing traditional Korean thought, philosophy, and life philosophy starting with "Aerin" in 1986.

In 1991, during the controversial self-immolation protests, he contributed a column titled "Stop the Death Ritual" to the Chosun Ilbo, which drew fierce criticism from the progressive camp and led to sharply divided evaluations of him thereafter.

The poet declared his retirement from writing after publishing the poetry collection "White Shade" and the prose book "Cosmic Biology" in 2018, and passed away at his home on the 8th of last month at the age of 81.

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