The late Kim Dong-il, a Jeju April 3 refugee in Japan, left behind over 2,000 crocheted items and pieces of clothing that preserved her memories, identity, and history. As the film traces the redistribution of her belongings, it illuminates the still-unhealed lives of various Zainichi Koreans who lived through the same era, sharing and connecting their intertwined memories.
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Memories Showers Seas, a documentary by director Im Heung-soon, originates from an exhibition of the same title, held at the Jeju 4.3 Peace Memorial Hall in 2003. At the heart of the exhibition, organized by the director as an artist, was the late first-generation Zainichi Korean Kim Dong-il (1936-2017). After experiencing the Jeju April 3 Incident and the partisan resistance in the Jirisan Mountains, she fled to Japan as a refugee and spent her time there crocheting. For her, the crocheting may have been a blend of her will to escape the past and her hope for healing. Among the countless items she made, around 2,000 pieces of crocheted clothing from the late Kim Dong-il's home were brought to Jeju and used in various ways. Some were displayed, adorning much of the exhibition space, while others were mended and given new life. As something that essentially touches the body, these clothes must have created a deeper bond between Kim Dong-il and the Korean people. Memories Showers Seas remembers the late Kim Dong-il's life and expresses empathy for the hardships of Zainichi Koreans. Through the stories of poet Kim Shi-jong, former soccer player An Yeong-hag, and the late novelist Lee Yangji (1955-1992), it also sheds light on the long and bitter history between Korea and Japan, as well as the struggles surrounding Zainichi Korean identity. (MOON Seok)
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IM Heung-soon
