기사 메일전송
[New Release] 4·3 was an event for all of South Korea... Kim Seok's 'Forty-Nine Years, June, A Certain Day'
  • Lim Yo-hee
  • April 26, 2026 at 4:38 PM
기사수정
  • By Kim Seok, Bareun Books, 22,000 won

 

While previous narratives of Jeju's 4.3 incident have primarily focused on documenting the horrific suffering and the sorrow of an isolated island, the new book, ‘Forty-Ninth Year, Sixth Month, A Certain Day,’ re-examines 4.3 not as a simple 'event' but within the grand 'structure' of revolutionary struggles and nation-building that swept across South Korea in the immediate aftermath of liberation.

 

The novel expands its scope beyond the geographical confines of Jeju to the entirety of the Korean Peninsula. It directly confronts how the South Labor Party's organized revolutionary line, originating in Daegu, was transplanted to the island, and how the lineage of revolution, passing through Park Heon-young and Kim Dal-sam, clashed with the formation of state power.

 

The author restores 4.3 not as an 'isolated tragedy' but as the front line of ideological conflict that the Korean Peninsula experienced. Through this, readers gain a multi-dimensional understanding of the structural forces of the era that made the occurrence of 4.3 inevitable.

 

The core of the work is driven by five individuals with distinct beliefs: △ an agitator harboring revolutionary ambitions △ an enforcer who refused to lay down his arms until the end △ an activist who saw through the illusory reality and attempted to thwart it △ a practical combatant who faced the situation with cold reason △ and a woman who had to survive while witnessing everything.

 

The novel does not simply categorize these individuals as good or evil. Instead, it persistently traces the 'choices' made by individuals thrown into the vortex of grand history and the 'responsibilities' that followed. Their acceptance of the consequences stemming from the choices they believed to be right reveals the profound human anguish that transcends ideology.

 

The meticulously researched weather, terrain, and movements of the characters of the time offer an immersive experience akin to watching a war film. The author's imagination, filling the gaps in historical records, breathes vivid life into historical facts.



관련기사
What do you think of this article?
recommend
0
great
0
moved
0
정기구독배너
Go to Mobile Site