Kim Nam Ju (1946 – 1994) was a Korean poet. He had actively engaged in anti-dictatorship movements and liberal Minjung movements since 1970 and he was arrested as political prisoner many times and served a decade in prison. Through powerful and poignant poetic technique, he drew attention to the reality of the labor environment and articulated determinations to overcome national division.1) His major poetry collections include Jinhonga (진혼가 Requiem) (1984), Nae kal nae pi (나의 칼 나의 피 My Sword My Blood) (1987), Jogugeun hanada (조국은 하나다 Our Country Is One) (1988) and more.
1. Life
Youth
He was born in 1946 in Haenam, Jeollanam-do Province to a famer. He dropped out of high school to resist the standardized education focusing on exams. After passing the qualification examination, he was admitted to the English department of Chonnam National University in 1969. While in college, he participated in anti-dictatorship democratization movements to oppose the constitutional amendment for a third term and high school military drills.2) When the Yushin Constitution was declared in 1972, he published a newspaper, Hamseong (함성 Shout), in October, together with his classmate, Lee Kang, to oppose the Yushin. He tried to distribute the newspaper across the nation but he was arrested for violating the anti-communist law and was expelled from college.3)
Debut
After he had served eight months in prison, he came back to his hometown to do farming. He debuted in 1974 when he published seven poems including “Requiem” in the Quarterly Changbi. In 1975, he opened Kafka, a specialized book store in the field of social science, in Gwangju, but he had to close it in one year due to financial difficulties. In 1977, he organized the Haenam Farmers’ Association that became the origin of the Korean Christian Famers’ Association.4) In the same year, he organized the Public Cultural Research Center in Gwangu with Hwang Seokyeong, Kim Sangyun and Choi Gwonhaeng. In 1978, he came to Seoul to hide his whereabouts and joined the South Korean People's Front Preparation Committee, a underground anti-government group, and he was arrested in 1979 to be sentence to 15 years’ imprisonment.5) Even behind bars, he continued to write and the first poetry collection, Requiem, was published in 1984. Literary groups such as the Association of Writers for National Literature issued a statement to urge his release and the PEN International adopted a resolution for his release. Thanks to these domestic and international movements, serving nine years and three months, he was released on December 21, 1988 after the stay of execution was given.6)
Major Events
When he was in prison, he published two poetry collections such as My Sword My Blood (1987) and Our Country Is One (1988) and a translated poetry collection, Achim jeonyeogro ilkki wihayeo (아침 저녁으로 읽기 위하여 To Read in the Morning and at Night) (1988). When he was released in 1988, he actively wrote to publish a poetry collection, Soljikhi malhaja (솔직히 말하자 Let’s Talk Honestly) (1989), and an anthology, Sarangui mugi (사랑의 무기 Weapon of Love) (1989). From 1990 to 1992, he served as the director of the National Literature Research Center under the Association of Writers for National Literature. He received many awards including the Shin Dongyup Prize for Literature (1991), the Danjae Literature Prize (1992), and the Yun Sangwon Literary Award (1993). He died of pancreatic cancer in 1994 and buried in the 5·18 Cemetery in Mangwoldong, Gwangju. After his death, his posthumous poetry collection, Nawa hamkke modeun noraega sarajindamyeon (나와 함께 모든 노래가 사라진다면 If All Songs Disappear with Me) (1995), and a translated poetry collection, Eunbakjie saegin sarang (은박지에 새긴 사랑 Love Carved on Foil) (1995), were published and he won the Film and Poetry Literary Award (2004), the Honorary Grand Prize of Yongbong (2010) and the Paju Book Award (2014).7)
2. Writing
Early Poems
His early poems refer to about 25 pieces published for three or four years after his debut. The poems can be divided into two categories based on his experience.8) “Chugok (추곡 Fall Grain Harvest)” (1975), “Useupji anneunya (우습지 않느냐 Isn’t It Funny)” (1975), “Daldo bukkeureowo (달도 부끄러워 The Moon Is Shy)” (1975), and “Aureul wihayeo (아우를 위하여 For My Younger Sibling)” (1978) are based on his farming experience, and “Requiem” (1974), “Jaetdeomi (잿더미 Ashes)” (1974), “Soljikhi malhaeseo naneun (솔직히 말해서 나는 Frankly Speaking, I)” (1976), “Nuneul moa changsare bburyeodo (눈을 모아 창살에 뿌려도 Even If I Gather Snow and Throw It to the Bars)” (1976), and “Han ipeui auseongeuro (한 입의 아우성으로 Shout with One Mouth)” (1976) are based on his experience in prison.9)
Later Poems
His later poems refer to the poems written in the late 1980s when he was in prison. The poems describe how to build a new conviction in the face of hardship in a lyrical tone.10) Declaring revolutionary determinations and focusing on class and national issues, the poems, however, plainly depict individual emotions or daily life at the same time.11) “Yet maeureul jinamyeo (옛 마을을 지나며 Passing by the Old Village)” expresses the popular sentiment he longs for12), and “Gohyang 1 (고향 Hometown)” or “Hamkkegaja uri igireul (함께 가자 우리 이 길을 Let’s Go Down This Road Together)” represents the past and the present of people who were suppressed by rapid industrialization.13) The later poems of Kim were considered to overcome the limitation of the existing Minjung poetry by delivering pugnacity naturally in the form of a lyrical song through satires and parodies.14)15)
Reference
1) Doopedia [Kim Namju]
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=1207444&cid=40942&categoryId=33385
2) Dictionary of Current Affairs and Common Sense [Kim Nmaju]
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=75146&cid=43667&categoryId=43667
3) Doopedia [Kim Namju]
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=1207444&cid=40942&categoryId=33385
4) Doopedia [Kim Namju]
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=1207444&cid=40942&categoryId=33385
5) Wikipedia [Kim Namju]
https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EA%B9%80%EB%82%A8%EC%A3%BC_(1946%EB%85%84
6) Kim Namju Memorial Hall [Chronology of Kim Namju’s Life]
https://blog.naver.com/kimnamjuhall/221533297935
7) Kim Namju Memorial Hall [Chronology of Kim Namju’s Life]
https://blog.naver.com/kimnamjuhall/221533297935
8) Yeom, Mueung & Lim, Hongbae, et al. Kim Namju’s Literary World, Changbi, 2014.
9) Kwon, Yeongmin. Dictionary of Modern Korean Literature. Seoul National University Press, 2004
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=333206&cid=41708&categoryId=41737
10) Kwon, Yeongmin. Dictionary of Modern Korean Literature. Seoul National University Press, 2004
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=333206&cid=41708&categoryId=41737
11) Yeom, Mueung. “Dialectic of Social Awareness and Poetic Expression,” The Quarterly Changbi, Vol. 16 No.2, 1988.
12) Yeom, Mueung & Lim, Hongbae, et al. Kim Namju’s Literary World, Changbi, 2014.
13) Song, cheolsu. “Research on Kim Namju’s Poetry.” Master’s Thesis, Korea National University of Education, 2004.
14) Yeom, Mueung & Lim, Hongbae, et al. Kim Namju’s Literary World, Changbi, 2014.
15) Encyclopedia of Korean Culture [Kim Namju]
http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/SearchNavi?keyword=김남주&ridx=0&tot=2
