[240227] 한센病 재일교포 시인 김하일을 아시나요?

[윤희영의 News English] 한센病 재일교포 시인 김하일을 아시나요?

Have you heard about Ha-il Kim, a Leper Korean Japanese Poet?

 

 

지난해 6월 10일 세상을 떠났다. 처절하고 비통했던 삶, 버겁게 버텨오던 그 고된 세월의 고삐를 스르르 놓았다. 96년 인생 80년 넘게 살았던 일본, ‘조센진 문둥이’로 갇혀 지냈던 어느 산중턱 요양원에서 숨을 거뒀다. 일제강점기, 경상북도 가난한 농가에서 태어났다. 하루 세 끼 때우기도 어렵던 시절, 이리저리 치이다가 현해탄 너머 일본으로 휩쓸려갔다. 고작 열세 살. 낯선 땅에서 빌어먹느라 눈이 벌게진 그 어린 것에게 불행은 끝이 아니라 또 다른 학대를 시작했다. 낮에는 과자 공장, 밤에는 야학에 다니던 2년 후 어느 날, ‘문둥병’ 진단을 받았다. 그렇게 열 다섯 김하일은 일본 정부가 시행한 ‘나병(癩病) 금지법’에 따라 즉각 요양원으로 강제 격리됐다. 전염을 우려해서가 아니라 패전국의 추한 모습을 감추는 데 급급하던 일본 정부의 또 다른 희생양이 됐다.

Last year a poet, Ha-il Kim departed this life. With his desperate and sorrowful life, and hardly stood seasons that he had endured, he finally let go of the arduous years. Over 80 years living in Japan of his 96-year life, he breathed his last breath in a nursing home, where he had cooped up in the deep middle areas of mountain as an ethnic Korean leper. Under Japanese colonial rule, he was born into a poor farming family in the Kyeong-sang province. During the harsh times for all Koreans when most of them were used to skip their meals, he had gone through lots of difficulties and crossed the Korea Strait to Japan when he was only 13 years old. However, the world never treats this little subtle child easy. His misery was not over but other abuse started. One day, after two years of working at the snack factory in the daytime and studied at the night university, he was diagnosed with ‘leprosy.’ 15 years old, Ha-il Kim was forcibly segregated in a sanatorium in accordance with the ‘Leprosy Prohibit Act’ implemented by Japanese Government. This is not because of concerns about contagion, but because of attempt to hiding the dishonorable Japanese government’s defeat in WW2, so that he became another scapegoat.

 

한센병은 시력을 먼저 앗아갔다. 손가락으로 점자를 배워야 하는데, 지문마저 문드러졌다. 그에게 남은 삶과의 소통 수단은 입안의 혀밖에 남지 않았다. 혀로 핥아가며 점자 읽는 법을 독학해 한국·일본 점자와 시(詩)를 공부하며 자신의 어처구니없는 삶을 위로하고 매정한 세상 원망을 달랬다. 혀로 핥다보니 점자는 녹아버리기 일쑤였다. 혀는 쓸리고 까여서 피가 났다. 재일 조선인이자 한센병 환자라는 두 가지 차별을 한꺼번에 겪어야 했던 그에겐 피도 진물이 돼 흘렀다. 요양원 나병 환자들에게도 ‘조센진’이라고 왕따를 당했다. 1993년 지인들 도움으로 한국에서 ‘혀로 읽는 시’라는 시집을 냈지만, 큰 주목을 받지 못했다. 그로부터 꼭 30년 후인 지난해 별세하기 전에 마지막 소원을 남겼다. 한국의 고향 부모님 산소 곁에 묻어달라는 것이었다. 다행히 그의 유언이 전해져 지난해 가을 한국 친지들이 유해를 모셔와 경상북도 고향 언덕 부모님 곁에 묻어드렸다.

Hansen’s disease robbed him of his eyesight first. He must learn braille with his finger, but even fingerprints were rotted. Only the tongue was left for the communications with his spare life. As licking the papers, he taught himself to read braille by licking it with his tongue and lots of poems and braille from Korea and Japan, he comforted his absurd life and mollified his resentment toward the callous world. Licking with his tongue made the braille melted and the tongue was chafed, chapped and bleeding. For him who should face two fronts of discrimination at once, ethnic Korean in Japan and leprosy, even his blood turned oozes and ran down. He also treated as an outcast among the leprosy patients in the nursing home. In 1993, his acquaintances helped him issue his book of poem named ‘Poetry to read with tongue’, but didn’t garner much attention. Exactly 30 years later, before his death, he left his dying wishes. He asked to be buried next to his parents’ graves. Fortunately, his dying wish was delivered to the relatives and they brought his remains and buried them next to his parents on a hill in his hometown in Gyeongsang Province.

 

 

일본 군마현 구사쓰의 산간벽지 요양원 ‘栗生樂泉園’ 그의 방은 아직 비어 있다. 방에는 ‘아리랑’을 타이틀곡으로 한 한국 민요 CD 한 장이 남아 있다고 아사히신문은 전했다.

His room in Kusatsu, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, named ‘栗生樂泉園’, still be unoccupied. In his room, one CD of Korean folk songs with ‘Arirang’ as the title song remained, the Asahi Shinbun reported.

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[Reference]:

https://www.chosun.com/opinion/specialist_column/2024/02/27/6GBT5U6L3NH7HFWZRWVFR666SQ/

[영문 참고자료 사이트]

☞ https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15167050

☞https://www.history.com/news/japan-colonization-korea

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(depart this life)

(desperate and sorrowful life)

(let go of the arduous years)

(ethnic Korean leper)

(breathe his last breath)

(under Japanese colonial rule)

(be born into a poor farming family)

(be diagnosed with ‘leprosy’)

(be forcibly segregated in a sanatorium)

(in accordance with)

(with the ‘Leprosy Prohibit Act’ implemented by)

(become another scapegoat)

(rob him of his eyesight)

(teach himself to read braille by licking it with his tongue)

(comfort his absurd life)

(mollify his resentment toward the callous world)

(be chafed, chapped, and bleeding)

(ethnic Korean in Japan)

(face two fronts of discrimination at once)

(be treated as an outcast)

(garner much attention)

(go to his death)

(leave his dying wish)

(be buried next to his parents’ graves)