Park Nohae: Revolutionary Politics and Poetry in South Korea

Park Nohae emerged as a powerful literary voice in South Korea during the tumultuous 1980s, though at the time few knew who he actually was. He was the faceless poet. The voice of the many. Working various manual labor jobs which exposed him to the harsh realities faced by the working class, he became a champion of labor rights and social justice. His collection of poems "노동의 새벽( Dawn of Labor)" published in 1984 sold over a million copies. However, his call for change and a new sky over the South Korean people brought him into conflict with the military dictatorship. He was arrested and sentenced to life in prison, though many called for the death penalty. Eventually, after seven long years, much of which was solitary confinement, he was released. Today he still writes poetry and takes photos, sharing his wisdom and insights with a new generation. You can also visit his photo exhibitions in Seoul, with images captured in Iraq and Palestine. However, Park shuns the limelight, rarely giving interviews and not wanting fame or publicity. This conversation with Cheehyung Harrison Kim celebrates the first English publication of Dawn of Labor, a book which he worked on with Brother Anthony (An Sonjae). Harrison is an associate professor of Korean history at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. We are also joined by Seoul Women's University student Kim Jiwon. Dawn of Labor: https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/dawn-of-labor/ Park Nohae (twitter): https://x.com/parknohae Park Nohae (insta): https://www.instagram.com/park_nohae/ Park's latest book (Korean): https://gift.kakao.com/product/9251669?input_channel_id=2630 Nanum Munhwa: https://www.nanum.com/site/   Discussion Outline  0:00 Introduction 7:30 The context: 1980s Korea 20:27 Politics and leftist ideas 28:15 Gender and feminism in Park's work 48:55 Dawn of Labor 53:40 Love by Park Nohae 58:55 How Much? by Park Nohae 1:07:50 Mother by Park Nohae 1:18:15 Arrest and imprisonment 1:24:10 The artwork of Oh Yoon 1:27:10 The color blue 1:31:25 Park Nohae and the world 1:37:50 Reading and translating Park Nohae 2:00:15 Recommendations   Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard ▶ Get in touch: [email protected] ▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873 ▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard ▶ Find us on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed ▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128 ▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE ▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/ ▶ Music: Still Something So Beautiful by David Tizzard (Radical Gary)