Kim Jiha (Korean: 김지하; 1941-) is a Korean poet and
playwright.Kim Jiha was born Kim Yeongil on February 4, 1941 in Mokpo,
Jeollanam-do. As a university student, Kim took part in April
Revolution demonstrations that toppled the regime of President Syngman
Rhee in April 1960. In March 1963, under the pen name Kim Jiha, he
published the poem "Evening Story" (Jeonyeok iyagi) in the journal
Mokpo Literature. In 1964, Kim took part in the demonstrations against
the normalization treaty establishing diplomatic relations with Japan,
for which he was briefly arrested. In 1966, he graduated with a degree
in Aesthetics from Seoul National University. He made his official
literary debut in 1969.Kim was a dissident under the Park regime, in
fact he took the pen-name Jiha because it is the Korean word for
"underground". Kim first came to widespread attention in May 1970 with
his poem Five Bandits, which led to him being arrested under the
Anti-Communist Law, though the poem says nothing about either
communism or North Korea. The title of Five Bandits is a reference to
the "Five Traitors" who signed the treaty turning Korea into a
Japanese protectorate in 1905. In Five Bandits, Kim described how
about "ten years ago" the eponymous bandits came to dominate South
Korea, rapaciously devouring everything as they set out to loot the
country. The poem was published in May 1970 and General Park came to
power in a coup d'etat in May 1961. One of the "five bandits" is
described as a general who is a great Japanophile and who began his
military career fighting for the Japanese in World War II; the
character of the general was clearly supposed to be General Park, who
was often expressed his admiration for Japanese militarism and who
like the unnamed general fought for Japan in World War II, which is
why the poem was promptly banned and Kim arrested.After accusing the
regime of extracting false confessions with the use of torture, he was
tried and sentenced to death in 1974, which was commuted to a life
sentence and eventual release following a public outcry. When he
further accused the government of using torture to get confessions in
the 1974 People's Revolutionary Party case, he was once again sent to
prison and his life sentence renewed. He was subject to torture
himself. As a Catholic, he compared the suffering of the Korean people
with the greater suffering of Jesus Christ. His poem “Five
Thieves†, critical of the government, was subject to censorship, as
the entire issue of Sasangye magazine in which it was printed was
pulled from circulation.
playwright.Kim Jiha was born Kim Yeongil on February 4, 1941 in Mokpo,
Jeollanam-do. As a university student, Kim took part in April
Revolution demonstrations that toppled the regime of President Syngman
Rhee in April 1960. In March 1963, under the pen name Kim Jiha, he
published the poem "Evening Story" (Jeonyeok iyagi) in the journal
Mokpo Literature. In 1964, Kim took part in the demonstrations against
the normalization treaty establishing diplomatic relations with Japan,
for which he was briefly arrested. In 1966, he graduated with a degree
in Aesthetics from Seoul National University. He made his official
literary debut in 1969.Kim was a dissident under the Park regime, in
fact he took the pen-name Jiha because it is the Korean word for
"underground". Kim first came to widespread attention in May 1970 with
his poem Five Bandits, which led to him being arrested under the
Anti-Communist Law, though the poem says nothing about either
communism or North Korea. The title of Five Bandits is a reference to
the "Five Traitors" who signed the treaty turning Korea into a
Japanese protectorate in 1905. In Five Bandits, Kim described how
about "ten years ago" the eponymous bandits came to dominate South
Korea, rapaciously devouring everything as they set out to loot the
country. The poem was published in May 1970 and General Park came to
power in a coup d'etat in May 1961. One of the "five bandits" is
described as a general who is a great Japanophile and who began his
military career fighting for the Japanese in World War II; the
character of the general was clearly supposed to be General Park, who
was often expressed his admiration for Japanese militarism and who
like the unnamed general fought for Japan in World War II, which is
why the poem was promptly banned and Kim arrested.After accusing the
regime of extracting false confessions with the use of torture, he was
tried and sentenced to death in 1974, which was commuted to a life
sentence and eventual release following a public outcry. When he
further accused the government of using torture to get confessions in
the 1974 People's Revolutionary Party case, he was once again sent to
prison and his life sentence renewed. He was subject to torture
himself. As a Catholic, he compared the suffering of the Korean people
with the greater suffering of Jesus Christ. His poem “Five
Thieves†, critical of the government, was subject to censorship, as
the entire issue of Sasangye magazine in which it was printed was
pulled from circulation.
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