Kim JaeMin

Diary of an aged horse

Diary of an aged horse was a process of researching and following the life of the anti-Japanese resistance writer Kim Sa-ryang and the records he left behind. This research drew on various sources, including Noma Manri, Hojŏp, Kim Sa-ryang: Works and Studies (Volumes 1, 2, 3), Kim Sa-ryang: A Critical Biography, Kim Hak-cheol, the Last Squad Leader of the Joseon Volunteer Army, as well as 12 academic papers, video footage, websites, and photographs. Memory is not about retrieving an old folder; it is revived through empathy.

The work shows the journey of the writer Kim Sa-ryang, who departs from 'Nomamanri' and goes on to write 'Hojŏp'. While resisting the oppression of Imperial Japan, Kim Sa-ryang fled to Japan to escape threats to his safety and later traveled to China on his 'Nomamanri' journey. There, he hears about the Battle of Hogajang in December 1941. Near Shijiazhuang in North China, in the village of Hogajang in Yuanshi County, members of the Joseon Volunteer Army were taking a brief rest after completing a propaganda mission when they were ambushed by Japanese forces. The Joseon Volunteer Army fought back, broke through the encirclement, and, with the arrival of the Eighth Route Army, the Japanese troops retreated—ending the battle in just one night. Kim Sa-ryang began to write in detail about this Battle of Hogajang and the lives of the Joseon Volunteer Army. Pursuing the passage of time and forgotten memories, he kept recording without cease. The plot interweaves Kim Sa-ryang’s life and his work Hojŏp through the eyes of a figure named Kim Hak-cheol. By remembering those who lived through that era, it mourns for the people burdened with the sufferings of the time and commemorates Hojŏp, which was historically overlooked for 66 years.