The Lyricism of the Diaspora and the Diaspora of Lyricism : The Poetic World of Kim Si-jong, a Korean in Japan

Yang, Soonmo (avtor)

Often referred to as “East Asia’s greatest poet” by various researchers, Kim Si-jong is renowned as a poet of the Korean diaspora. Born in Busan in 1929 during the Japanese colonization of Korea, Kim Si-jong spoke Japanese as his native language. In 1949, after the liberation of Korea, he was involved in the Jeju Uprising and then fled to Japan amid Cold War tensions and the subsequent division of Korea into North and South. Through his poetry, however, Kim Si-jong exacted his revenge on Japan and the Japanese language. Kim’s poetic revenge gave rise to the creation of a new kind of Japanese literature, transforming the painful experiences of the Korean diaspora into meaningful cultural production. However, by focusing so heavily on these notable aspects of excellence in Kim’s work, there’s a risk of defining the poet and his creations in the very lyrical ways that Kim himself is most cautious of. Whether the painful lives of the people of the diaspora are particularized or universalized, in either case, many have elevated Kim Si-jong to the status of a mythical figure. His life and work become akin to a great biography on a bookshelf. Perhaps in this way we turn a blind eye to his otherness, his “suffering”, and take only the fruits that emerge from it. This is why Kim Si-jong’s work is truly exceptional for readers today. He seems to understand the contradictions of the concept of diaspora, as well as the desires of his readers, and explores new paths that are possible within it. This paper begins by identifying the points of confrontation within the concept of diaspora and the problems it creates, concluding that a singular point of view on diaspora cannot fully define Kim Si-jong’s work. Instead, he uses poetry to confront and attempt to overcome the problems posed by conflicting conceptualizations of diaspora.

• Jezik: Angleški jezik
• Ključne besede: Kim Si-jong, diaspora, lyricism, lyricism of the diaspora, diaspora of lyricism
• Vrsta gradiva: Članek v reviji
• Tipologija: 1.01 - Izvirni znanstveni članek
• Organizacija: FF - Filozofska fakulteta
• Status publikacije: Objavljeno
• Različica publikacije: Objavljena publikacija
• Datum objave: 17.03.2025
• Št. strani: Str. 41-65
• Številčenje: Vol. 13, no. suppl.
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-178229
• ISSN: 2232-5131
• eISSN: 2350-4226
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4312/as.2025.13.sup.41-65
• Datum objave v RUL: 21.01.2026

Gradivo je del revije

• Naslov: Asian studies
• Založnik: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete, Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete, Založba Univerze v Ljubljani
• ISSN: 2232-5131
• COBISS.SI-ID: 265206272

Licence

• Licenca: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Priznanje avtorstva-Deljenje pod enakimi pogoji 4.0 Mednarodna
• Povezava: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.sl
• Opis: Ta licenca Creative Commons je zelo podobna običajni licenci Priznanje avtorstva, vendar zahteva, da so materialne avtorske pravice na izpeljanih delih upravljane z enako licenco.

Sekundarni jezik

• Jezik: Slovenski jezik
• Naslov: Lirika diaspore in diaspora lirike : pesniški svet Kim Si-jonga, Korejca na Japonskem

Izvleček

Kim Si-jong, ki ga različni raziskovalci in raziskovalke pogosto imenujejo »največji pesnik vzhodne Azije«, slovi kot pesnik korejske diaspore. Rodil se je leta 1929 v Busanu, v času japonske kolonizacije Koreje, njegov materni jezik pa je bila japonščina. Leta 1949, po osvoboditvi Koreje, je sodeloval v vstaji na Jejuju, nato pa med napetostmi hladne vojne in poznejšo delitvijo Koreje na Severno in Južno pobegnil na Japonsko. S svojo poezijo se je Kim Si-jong maščeval Japonski in japonskemu jeziku. Njegovo pesniško maščevanje je spodbudilo nastanek nove vrste japonske književnosti, ki je boleče izkušnje korejske diaspore preoblikovala v smiselno kulturno produkcijo. Vendar pa s tako močnim osredotočanjem na te opazne vidike odličnosti v Kimovem delu obstaja nevarnost, da pesnika in njegove stvaritve opredelimo prav na lirski način, pred katerim je Kim sam najbolj previden. Ne glede na to, ali so boleča življenja ljudi iz diaspore partikularizirana ali univerzalizirana, so v vsakem primeru mnogi povzdignili Kim Si-jonga v status mitske osebnosti. Njegovo življenje in delo sta podobna veliki biografiji na knjižni polici. Morda si na ta način zatiskamo oči pred njegovo drugostjo, njegovim »trpljenjem«, in jemljemo le sadove, ki iz njega izhajajo. Delo Kim Si-jonga je zato za današnje bralstvo resnično izjemno. Zdi se, da razume protislovja koncepta diaspore in tudi želje svojih bralk in bralcev ter raziskuje nove poti, ki so v njej možne. Članek najprej opredeli točke soočenja znotraj koncepta diaspore in težave, ki jih ta ustvarja, ter sklene, da enoznačno stališče o diaspori ne more v celoti opredeliti Kim Si-jongovega dela. Namesto tega se s poezijo sooča s težavami, ki jih povzročajo nasprotujoče si konceptualizacije diaspore, in jih poskuša premagati.

• Ključne besede: Kim Si-jong, diaspora, lirika, lirika diaspore, diaspora lirike