Park Nohae Explained

Park Nohae (Korean: 박노해; born 1957) is a South Korean poet, photographer and activist. His original name was Park Gi-pyeong (Korean: 박기평|label=none).^{[1] [2]}

Biography

Park Nohae was born in 1957 in Hampyeong, South Jeolla Province, a southern province of South Korea, and grew up in a farming town, Beolgyo, Goheung. Both his father, a pansori singer, who had participated in Korea's independence and progressive movements, and his mother who was a devout Catholic, greatly influenced him from his childhood. Later, his brother became a priest and headed the Catholic Priests Association for Justice that took a leading role in the democratization of South Korea, and his younger sister became a nun. At the age of seven when his father suddenly died, his fate began to get on a wild journey, as his family became poor, and the family members had to be separated from each other. Such misfortune and solitude at his early age made him get immersed in reading and writing.

Park left his hometown and moved to Seoul, the capital city of South Korea. He worked during daytime and attended the night classes at Seollin Commercial High School. He began to build up a labor activist’s career while working in the fields of construction, textiles, chemicals, metals, and logistics. At that time, Korea was going through a dark period under the military dictatorship; night curfews were in place; freedom of the press, presidential elections, and labor’s primary rights were severely violated.^[3]

1980s, "the icon of Revolutionary" in South Korea

The 1980s, when the labor movement was at its most active in South Korea, was also the most active period for the creation of labor poetry. The poetry of this time, represented mainly by Park Nohae and Baek Mu-san.^[4] He then took the pseudonym Park Nohae(‘No’ means ‘labor,’ ‘Hae’ means ‘liberation’) and published his first collection of poems, Dawn of Labor, in 1984, under that name. Korea was at that time under the military dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan, with strict censorship. Despite official bans, this collection sold nearly a million copies and created intense interest. The unknown poet became an intensely symbolic figure of resistance.

1990s, Demanded the death sentence, Sentenced to life imprisonment

For many years he was active underground, helping establish the South Korean Socialist Workers' Alliance in 1989. After spending seven years of his life hiding from the police, he was finally arrested in 1991. After twenty-four days of investigation, coupled with cruel, illegal torture, at his trial the state prosecutors even demanded the death sentence for him as an enemy of the state.^[5] He was finally sentenced to life imprisonment.^[6] While he was in prison, a second poetry collection was published, True Beginning(1993) as well as a collection of essays, Only a Person is Hope(1997). He was finally freed in 1998 after being amnestied by President Kim Dae-Jung.^[7] Withdrawing from his previous role, he helped establish a nonprofit social organization “Nanum Munhwa”(Culture of Sharing) with Koreans concerned with the great challenges confronting global humanity.

2000s, Global Peace Sharing as a photographer as well as an activist

In 2003, at the United States’ invasion of Iraq, he went to protect helpless civilians and promote peace.^[8] At that time, he undertook peace activities in Bagdad and in other Middle Eastern countries for 75 days.^[9] In 2006, he was in Lebanon on a similar peace-making mission and publicly opposed the dispatch of Korean combat troops to the Middle East.^[10] From the start, he combined poetry-writing and photography, as he went to many countries that were suffering from wars and poverty, such as Palestine, Kurdistan, Pakistan, Aceh (Indonesia), Burma, India, Ethiopia, Sudan, Peru and Bolivia. In 2010, he held his first exhibition of photos “Ra Wilderness,” and since then he has continued to hold exhibitions to draw public attention to global issues of poverty, human values, and warfare. Also, in 2010, he finally published a large new collection of poems, So You Must Not Disappear, on themes such as resistance, spirituality, education, living, revolution and love. Since then, living in a remote rural community far from Seoul, he continues, with the members of “Culture of Sharing,” to hold photo exhibitions in a dedicated gallery, the Ra Cafe and Gallery, in Seoul, also occasionally publishing photo albums, such as “Like Them, I am There,” and “Another Way.”

2016-2017 Candlelight Revolution

When the citizens of Korea began to hold candlelight demonstrations in protest at the corruption of the Korean government under Park Geun-hae, he and the members of “Culture of Sharing” participated actively, then in 2017 published a large album book Candlelight Revolution for first anniversary of the Candlelight Revolution.^[11] He continues to be active and to write, while efforts are now underway to make his work and writings available internationally in translation.^[12]

Works

Collections of Poems

• The Dawn of Labor (First edition: Pulbit, 1984 / 30th anniversary Revised edition: Slow Walking, 2014) - His first book, sold nearly a million copies despite being banned^[13]
• True Beginning (First edition: Changbi Publishers, 1993 / Revised edition: Slow Walking, 2016) - Prison writing, sold over a hundred thousand copies^[14]
• So You Must Not Disappear (Slow Walking, 2010)
• Looking Up At Your Sky (Slow Walking, 2022)
• Dawn of Labor (English First edition: University of Hawai'i Press, 2024)^[15]

Essay

• Only a Person is Hope (First edition: Hainaim, 1997 / Revised edition: Slow Walking, 2015) - Prison writing
• Aceh’s Weeping for Too Long (Slow Walking, 2005) - Reportage
• It Seems Like Nobody Exists Here (Slow Walking, 2007) - Reportage
• Another Way (Slow Walking, 2014) - Photographic essay
• Reading While Walking Along (Slow Walking, 2021)
• The Tear-Flowering Boy (눈물꽃 소년) (Slow Walking, 2024) - Autobiographical essays

Photobook

• Ra Wilderness (Slow Walking, 2010)
• Like Them, I am There (Slow Walking, 2010) - Hardcover
• Another Way (Slow Walking, 2014) - Hardcover

Supervised and Special Contribution

• Candlelight Revolution (Slow Walking, 2017)

Photo Essay series

• 01 One Day (Slow Walking, 2019)^[16]
• 02 Simply, Firmly, Gracefully (Slow Walking, 2020)
• 03 The Path (Slow Walking, 2020)^[17]
• 04 My Dear Little Room (Slow Walking, 2022)^[18]
• 05 Children are Amazing (Slow Walking, 2022)
• 06 Beneath the Olive Tree (Slow Walking, 2023)

Poetry Picture Book

• The Blue Light Girl (Slow Walking, 2020)

Exhibitions

Ra Wilderness

(Gallery M, Seoul, Korea, 2010) - His first photo exhibition^{[19] [20]}

Like Them, I am There

(Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Seoul, Korea, 2010)^[21]

Another Way

(Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Seoul, Korea, 2014) - Photo exhibition on Asia (Pakistan, Laos, Burma, Indonesia, Tibet, India)^{[22] [23]}

Ra Cafe Gallery Permanent Exhibitions (since 2012)

• Photo Exhibition on Pakistan, “A Village Where Clouds Dwell” (April 16 – July 31, 2012)
• Photo Exhibition on Burma, “Singing Lake” (August 3 – October 31, 2012)^[24]
• Photo Exhibition on Tibet, “Bloom and Fall with Nothing Left” (November 2, 2012 – February 27, 2013)
• Photo Exhibition on Q’ero in the Andes, “Q’erotica” (March 1 – July 10, 2013)
• Photo Exhibition on Sudan “On the Shores of the Nile” (July 12 – November 13, 2013)
• Photo Exhibition on the Middle East “Ra wilderness” (November 15, 2013 – March 1, 2014) (Encore)
• Photo Exhibition on Ethiopia “Blooming Footsteps” (March 3 – July 23, 2014)
• Photo Exhibition on Latin America “Titicaca” (July 25 – November 19, 2014)
• Photo Exhibition on Peru “Gracias a la vida” (November 21, 2014 – March 18, 2015)^[25]
• Photo Exhibition on Aljazeera, titled “Like them beneath the Sun” (March 20, 2015 – July 15, 2015)^[26]
• Photo Exhibition on India “Dire Dire” (July 17, 2015 – January 13, 2016)^[27]
• Photo Exhibition on Kashmir, “Kashmir's Spring” (January 15 – June 29, 2016)^[28]
• Photo Exhibition on Indonesia, “The Caldera's Wind” (July 1, 2016 – December 28)
• Photo Exhibition on Kurds "Kurdistan” (December 30, 2016 – June 28, 2017)^[29]
• Photo Exhibition on Laos "Morning of Laos” (June 30, 2017 – February 28, 2018)^[30]
• Photo Exhibition on Palestine, “Dream of the Olive Tree” (March 2, 2018 – October 31)
• Photo Exhibition titled “Goodbye, and...” (November 2, 2018 – February 10, 2019)
• Photo Exhibition titled “One Day” (Jun 22, 2019 – Jan 10, 2020)^[31]
• Photo Exhibition titled “Simply, Firmly, Gracefully” (Jan 15, 2020 – Aug 30, 2020)^[32]
• Photo Exhibition titled “The Path” (Sep 1, 2020 – Jun 6, 2021)^[33]
• Text&Photo Exhibition titled “Reading While Walking Along” (Jun 8, 2021 – Dec. 31, 2021)^[34]
• Photo Exhibition titled “My Dear Little Room” (Jan 4, 2022 – Sep 18, 2022)^[35]
• Photo Exhibition titled “Children are Amazing” (Sep 30, 2022 – Oct 1, 2023)
• Photo Exhibition titled “Beneath the Olive Tree” (Oct. 4, 2023 – Aug. 25, 2024)

External links

• Nanum Munhwa (Culture of Sharing) - a nonprofit social organization established by Park Nohae
• Facebook page
• Instagram - Everyday poem with photo

Notes and References

1. News: 'Failed revolutionary' seeks another way. The Korea Herald. 2014-02-28. 2018-11-13. en.
2. News: [김호기의 100년에서 100년으로] "인간답게 살 권리를 달라" 박해 받는 노동자의 해방을 외치다]. Kim. Ho-Ki. 2018-12-03. The Hankook-Ilbo.
3. Book: Park, Nohae. Like Them, I am There . Biography . Slow Walk. 2018. 9788991418240. Seoul, Korea. 298.
4. News: The Current State of South Korea's Labor Poetry. Korean Literature Now. 2018-11-18. ko.
5. News: Kirk . Don . Tribune . International Herald . 1998-08-17 . Protest Mars South Korea Amnesty for Dissidents . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-07-26 . 0362-4331.
6. Web site: South Korea: Appeal on behalf of socialist poet Park No-hae. 1 February 1993. Amnesty International.
7. Web site: 노동시인 박노해 특사로 석방[이언주]]. 이 . 인용. 김. 은주. imnews.imbc.com. 15 August 1998 . ko. 2018-11-14.
8. News: 詩人 박노해 "反戰 위해 이라크로". 2003-03-24. JoongAng Ilbo. 2018-11-14. ko-KR.
9. News: "전쟁으로 이라크인들 인간성 황폐". 2003-04-16. JoongAng Ilbo. 2018-11-14. ko-KR.
10. News: 시인 박노해 "레바논 파병 재고해야". 2007-07-11. 2018-11-14. ko.
11. Web site: Korean Poems. Anthony. Brother. anthony.sogang.ac.kr. 2018-11-14.
12. Web site: 프랑크푸르트 도서전···한국 출판 문학·작품성 홍보. ktv.go.kr. ko. 2018-11-17.
13. Web site: Park Nohae.
14. Web site: 한국 리얼리즘 시가 걸었던 자리. imnews.imbc.com. 20 April 2009 . ko. 2018-11-14.
15. Web site: Dong-hee . Hwang . 2024-06-18 . [Latest Read] Revolutionary poems from Korea's darkest days published in English decades later ]. 2024-06-25 . The Korea Herald . en.
16. Web site: 정 . 아란. 2019-10-17. 박노해가 지난 20년간 세상 곳곳에서 만난 '하루'. 2020-09-08. Yonhap News Agency. ko.
17. Web site: 박노해 "세상에서 가장 비참한 자는 길을 잃은 자". 2020-09-08. The Chosun Ilbo. 4 September 2020 . ko.
18. Web site: 2022-01-16 . [새로 나온 책] 코로나19 대응 자화자찬했지만 "K-방역은 없다" ]. 2022-04-17 . . ko.
19. Web site: 사진작가로 변신한 박노해 시인. imnews.imbc.com. 7 December 2009 . ko. 2018-11-14.
20. News: 박노해, 전쟁 기아의 땅에서 10년 무릎 꿇고 찍다. 2010-01-08. JoongAng Ilbo. 2018-11-17. ko-KR.
21. News: 사진전 '나 거기에 그들처럼' 박노해, 인류 대안의 삶을 꿈꾼다. 2010-10-09. JoongAng Ilbo. 2018-11-14. ko-KR.
22. News: [토요 문화의 창] '다른 길'로 돌아온 박노해]. KBS News. 2018-11-14. ko.
23. News: "나는 左도 右도 中道도 아니다… 나눔과 사랑 꿈꾸는 혁명가". 2018-11-14. ko.
24. News: 꽃다운 노동. 2012-08-05. JoongAng Ilbo. 2018-11-17. ko-KR.
25. News: 렌즈에 담은 페루인의 삶…박노해 21일부터 사진전. 2014-11-18. Seoul Shinmun. 2018-11-17. ko.
26. News: 박노해 '태양 아래 그들처럼' 사진전. 김 . 정선. 2015-03-20. Yonhap News Agency. 2018-11-17. ko-KR.
27. News: 박노해 시인, 인디아 사진전 '디레 디레' 17일 개최. 2015-07-12. 뉴스1. 2018-11-17. ko.
28. News: 카슈미르의 눈물·희망 … 박노해의 눈으로 담다. 2016-01-12. JoongAng Ilbo. 2018-11-17. ko-KR.
29. News: 박노해가 전하는 나라 잃은 쿠르드인의 삶. 2017-01-05. JoongAng Ilbo. 2018-11-17. ko-KR.
30. News: 박노해가 포착한 '라오스의 미소'…부암동서 사진전. 정 . 아란. 2017-06-27. Yonhap News Agency. 2018-11-17. ko-KR.
31. News: 각양각색 세계의 평범한 하루… 그 안의 감동을 담다. 21 July 2019. Catholic Peace Broadcasting Corporation.
32. Web site: 2020-01-13. 박노해 "내 희망은 단순한 것, 내 믿음은 단단한 것". 2020-09-08. Newsis. ko.
33. Web site: 2020-09-04 . 박노해 "세상에서 가장 비참한 자는 길을 잃은 자" . 2022-04-17 . . ko.
34. Web site: Hae-yeon. Kim. 2021-06-15. Labor activist-turned-poet chronicles travels in new book, exhibition. 2021-08-18. The Korea Herald. en.
35. Web site: 2021-12-23 . '혁명시인' 박노해, 흑백카메라로 기록한 '내 작은 방' . 2022-04-17 . . ko.