1st Anniversary of Kim Jiha's Passing, Memorial Festival to be Held... 'Symposium, Calligraphy Exhibition, Performance'

A memorial cultural event honoring the life and achievements of the late poet Kim Jiha, remembered as a resistance writer, will be held on the first anniversary of his passing.

The Kim Jiha Poet 1st Anniversary Memorial Cultural Festival Promotion Committee held a press conference on the 24th at Baekak Art Museum in Jongno-gu, Seoul, announcing that the memorial cultural event will take place from the 4th to the 9th of next month. The event will consist of an academic symposium reflecting on the late poet’s literary achievements and philosophy of life, an exhibition of his calligraphy and paintings, and a concert featuring songs based on his poetry.

On the morning of the 24th, Im Jin-taek, a pansori master, is speaking at the press conference for the "Kim Ji-ha Poet 1st Anniversary Memorial Cultural Festival" held at Baekak Art Museum in Jongno-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

원본보기 아이콘

Kim Jiha, who passed away on May 8 last year, was a prominent anti-establishment resistance poet in the 1970s. In 1970, he was arrested after publishing the poem "Ojeok" in the monthly magazine Sasanggae, which satirized conglomerates, members of the National Assembly, high-ranking officials, generals, and ministers by likening them to the Five Eulsa Traitors. In 1974, he was sentenced to death on charges of masterminding the National Democratic Youth Student Federation (Mincheonghakryeon). His representative work, "With a Burning Thirst," was released in 1975.

The first event to honor him is the calligraphy and painting exhibition. From the 4th to the 9th, Baekak Art Museum in Insadong will publicly display Kim Jiha’s brush calligraphy and artworks. At the opening ceremony on the 4th, Professor Yoo Hong-jun, Chair Professor at Myongji University, will provide commentary.

Professor Yoo Hong-jun, who is in charge of the overall exhibition, said, "It is unfortunate that people nowadays are not well acquainted with Kim Jiha of the 1970s. Not only his literature from the 1970s but also his struggle during seven years of imprisonment and the philosophy of life that sprouted from that struggle are tremendous assets in our history."

The symposium will be held from the 6th to the 7th at the Academy of Korean Studies in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, under the themes "Kim Jiha’s Literature, Art, and Philosophy of Life" and "Kim Jiha’s Political Hardships and the Birth of His Philosophy of Life." Honorary Professor Young Moo-woong of Yeungnam University and literary critic Hong Yong-hee will shed light on Kim Jiha’s life, literature, and life movement.

During the afternoon performance on the 6th, there will be a recitation of Kim Jiha’s poem "Hwangtotgil" and songs set to his poems such as "With a Burning Thirst" and "Seoul Road."

Yeom Moo-woong, Honorary Professor at Yeungnam University and chairman of the memorial festival promotion committee, said, "While preparing with experts for the first anniversary of Kim Jiha, I was quite surprised to see what he pondered and the ideas he developed. We are currently at a time when a fundamental transformation of civilization is needed, and Kim Jiha was already calling for a prophetic transformation decades ago. I hope this memorial festival will spark a greater literary, ideological, and life movement."

After the memorial festival, a complete collection of Kim Jiha’s works is planned to be published. Professor Yeom Moo-woong stated, "We will form a committee for the complete works and plan to create a biography over a period of three to five years." Professor Yoo Hong-jun added, "Kim Jiha’s works should be archived by national institutions as historical materials."

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.