Kim Sok-pom - Japanese Literary Awards

Profile

Gender: Male
Born: 1925-10-02 （Ikaino, Osaka, Japan）
Nationality: Joseon (Chosŏn) nationality
Languages: Japanese, Korean
Residence History: Ikaino, Osaka, Japan → Jeju Island, Korea (early life) → Seoul, Korea (brief residence) → Tokyo, Japan (residence and literary activity)

Career

Occupations: Writer, Translator, Journalist
Active Years: 1957-
Affiliations: Choson Sinbo (reporter), General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) — distanced in 1967

Education

Institution	Faculty	Department	Degree	Period	Country
Kansai University (Specialized Division)	Specialized Division, Department of Economics	Department of Economics	—	—	Japan
Kyoto University, Faculty of Letters	Faculty of Letters	Department of Aesthetics	—	—	Japan

Kansai University (Specialized Division)

Specialized Division, Department of Economics / Department of Economics

Country: Japan

Attended the specialized division at Kansai University; later advanced to Kyoto University Faculty of Letters

Kyoto University, Faculty of Letters

Faculty of Letters / Department of Aesthetics

Country: Japan

Graduated from the Department of Aesthetics

Awards

Year	Award	Work	Category	Organization	Result
1984	11th Daibutsu Jiro Prize	Volcanic Island (early volumes)	—	Daibutsu Jiro Prize Committee	受賞
1998	39th Mainichi Art Award	Volcanic Island (complete 7 volumes)	—	Mainichi Newspapers	受賞
2015	Jeju 4·3 Peace Prize	Volcanic Island and works on the Jeju 4·3 incident	—	Jeju 4·3 Peace Prize Committee	受賞

11th Daibutsu Jiro Prize

1984

Work: Volcanic Island (early volumes)

Organization: Daibutsu Jiro Prize Committee

Result: 受賞

39th Mainichi Art Award

1998

Work: Volcanic Island (complete 7 volumes)

Organization: Mainichi Newspapers

Result: 受賞

Jeju 4·3 Peace Prize

2015

Work: Volcanic Island and works on the Jeju 4·3 incident

Organization: Jeju 4·3 Peace Prize Committee

Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Osaragi Jiro Award 1 appearances

Edition 11 (1984) award

Works

Major Works

Death of the Crow

1967 Fiction (including short stories)

Set against prisons and social repression, it depicts the suffering of Zainichi Koreans and human conflicts; republished multiple times and regarded as one of the author's representative works.

Zainichi Korean identityDiscrimination and repressionMemory

Mantoku Ghost Tale

1970 Short fiction / Novel

Using ghost-story elements to reflect social and historical influences, this 1970 work helped establish the author's literary standing.

Ghosts and the supernaturalHistory and the individualSocial oppression

Volcanic Island

1983 Serialized epic novel

Inspired by the Jeju 4·3 incidents, this long serialized novel (published across 1976–1997) examines landscape, politics, and the transmission of memory; it drew significant attention domestically and abroad.

Jeju 4·3 incidentNationhood and memoryLand and violence

Translations

Korean translation (complete, 2015; trans. Kim Hwan-gi & Kim Hak-dong)

The Spell of Language: 'Zainichi Korean Literature' and Japanese

1971 Essay / Critical study

A critical study discussing the relationship between Zainichi Korean literature and the Japanese language, addressing language, identity, and the politics of expression.

Language and identityLiterature and politics

Bibliography

Death of the Crow
Mantoku Ghost Tale
The Spell of Language: 'Zainichi Korean Literature' and Japanese
Night
The Swindler
Summer of 1945
Let Those with Voices Speak
Nation, Language, Literature
Remaining Memories
Mandoogi Tales
Strange Tales of Passing
Festival Without a Priest
Thoughts on 'Zainichi'
Portraits of the Netherworld
Volcanic Island (complete 7 volumes)
Years of Paralysis
Journey to the Homeland
Conversion and the Pro-Japanese Faction
Dreams, Deep Grasses
Shadows of the Ground
From the Bottom of the Sea, From the Bottom of the Earth
Full Moon
False Sun
Crossing Borders: 'Zainichi' Literature and Politics
Collected Works of Kim Sok-pom (2 vols)
Zainichi Literature Collected Works: Kim Sok-pom
Sun Beneath the Ground
The Dead Are on the Surface
March from the Past
From Beneath the Sea (Iwanami Shoten edition)
Red Sea Under the Full Moon
Kim Sok-pom Essay Collection (2 vols)

Translations by Author

Kim Su-bok, 'Memoirs of a Female Teacher' (translation), Choson Youth Publishing, 1963
Hyeon Gi-yeong, 'Aunt Suni' (translation), Shinkan Publishing, 2001 (revised edition 2012)

Translations of Works

Volcanic Island — Korean translation (complete, 2015; trans. Kim Hwan-gi & Kim Hak-dong)

Style & Themes

Literary Style: Realist narration interwoven with political and historical concernsLong-form serialized structures layering memoryClear analytical perspective in essays and criticism
Recurring Motifs: Jeju 4·3 incidentGhosts and revenantsSea and islandsMemory and loss

Legacy

A leading figure in Zainichi Korean literature, Kim Sok-pom has persistently explored postwar memory, ethnicity, and border issues—most notably in the epic 'Volcanic Island' about the Jeju 4·3 incident. He has been widely recognized through awards and scholarly attention both domestically and abroad.

In Popular Culture

Media coverage and controversy around the 2015 Jeju 4·3 Peace Prize award
Subject of academic interest within studies of Zainichi literature

Trivia

Legal name: Shin Yang-geun (慎洋根).
Born in Ikaino, Osaka to parents from Jeju Island.
Has maintained Joseon/Chosŏn nationality as a Zainichi Korean.
Recipient of awards including the Daibutsu Jiro Prize (1984), Mainichi Art Award (1998), and Jeju 4·3 Peace Prize (2015).
Reports indicate his attempted visit to Korea in 2015 was denied following controversy over remarks at the award ceremony.
Active in Japanese-language writing since the 1950s; distanced himself from Chongryon around 1967.