"When it rains, I want to see you even more"
Yunbogi’s Diary was released in 1965, the year relations between South Korea and Japan were normalized. This boy’s diary was also, if not the first, one of the first Korean books published in Japan after the normalization. Though officially things had been worked out there were still unresolved feelings and issues between the two countries. Yubogi’s story was not only his own, but represented the stories of thousands of impoverished Korean children at the time.Yunbogi is a ten-year-old boy taking care of three younger siblings. After his mother left them with their ailing father, it fell upon this child to earn enough money to feed them. His sister, Sun, also worked selling gum on the streets with him. Yunbogi goes on to work various jobs---goat herding, shoe shining, anything to bring in money. Yet still the tiny family is starving.
Director Oshima Nagisa used stills of Korean children set to music with voice overs by children and himself. He took the pictures while doing research for the short film. Ostensibly he hoped to coax guilt from the Japanese regarding their destructive occupation and the long-term consequences for the people. He also hoped to evoke compassion for the Korean people most adversely affected…the children. Japanese policies had gutted the country leaving the citizens in a deadly precarious position after WWII and then exasperated by the Korean War. Japan’s economy had turned for the better by 1960, but South Korea was still struggling. Oshima controversially highlighted the disparity by showing images of children and conveying the damning words of a 10-year-old boy desperately working to keep his siblings alive. Yunbogi’s spirit was strong, condensing into a powerful resiliency as he was knocked down again and again. Despite that resiliency, he was also a child who was willing to starve to death if it meant his mother would return home.
“Chili peppers when boiled down become even hotter. Barley dies and sprouts anew.”
4 May 2025
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