Father’s Liberation Diary is a biographical novel written by Jeong Ji A who dedicated over ten years to its refinement. The author, recipient of prestigious awards including the Lee Hyo-seok Literary Award and the Hahn Moo-Sook Literary Prize, became known through her novel, The Partisan’s Daughter in 1990, which recounted the experiences of her parents in guerrilla warfare. Father’s Liberation Diary, seen as a sequel to this work, goes beyond the “partisan” label to reveal her father’s multifaceted nature as both a loving parent and an ordinary individual. Upon its release, the novel became an instant best seller with a circulation exceeding 300,000 copies and received widespread praise, including from former South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and author Jiang Yani.

    The author structured the novel using the aggregation method of a “funeral,” allowing the multiple characters to appear one by one naturally. These characters, with their varying ages, identities, and ideologies, include former comrades, a teenager, a shopkeeper, Vietnamese immigrants, a younger uncle, a rice cake shop owner, etc. Each gather at this ceremony and tell their stories. Through this masterful storytelling technique that transcends time and space, the father’s different stages in life are pieced together.

    Death is the starting point. Untangling the knot in “my heart,” “I” sheds away preconceived notions of “my” father solely as a socialist or guerrilla fighter. For the first time ever, “I” grasps her father’s profound love for humanity—a love that extends beyond ideological boundaries—and also comprehends his desires and affections as an ordinary man. Her father, a staunch socialist, is not rigid in his thinking. His great love for non-socialist individuals and his understanding of non-materialistic religious beliefs are touching and admirable—no matter what, he places human values above all else.

    This structural approach allows for a nostalgic exploration of the father’s life that surpasses mere personal emotional reminiscence, offering an objective perspective of his experiences. The work not only captures the father’s enthusiasm and righteousness, but also “inappropriately” collects his affairs—his flirtation with the shopkeeper and unsatisfied sexual desire during his marriage are honestly written out, revealing the author’s evolving attitude towards her father, from fleeing struggle to sincere understanding.

    This intricate tapestry of stories spans over fifty years of time. The experience of the younger uncle brings sadness and warmth to the story. As a child, the uncle idolized his brother, the protagonist’s father. However, the relationship between the two took a turn for the worse when the uncle’s son’s promising future was shattered due to the protagonist’s father’s political activity. Whether or not the uncle will come to mourn his brother becomes an ongoing tension that runs through the narrative. The uncle’s belated appearance at the funeral pushes the novel to its climactic moment of “liberation”: all hatred and prejudice find release, not only the uncle’s, but also of the people connected to “my” father. The author understands that her guerrilla father always had within him an unwavering principle of humanity which transcended ideology, race, and class.

    In terms of language, the beginning sets the tone for the whole novel with a few short sentences: “Father is dead. He hit his head on a utility pole. My father, who’s been living with a straight face all his life ended his sincere life in this way.” The language is clear and simple, humorous and witty, evoking profound melancholy. While recounting the hardships endured by the protagonist’s father, the language recalls a cold mountain village. This coolness is balanced by heartwarming scenes: from taking in a woman peddler and ends up being deceived, to the long-awaited return of the rice cake shop owner, and playful moments spent with her father in the mountains.

    The death of the father brings liberation. Through this multi-perspective narrative, the father is no longer seen as a guerrilla or a communist, but simply as “my” father. This book is a profound recollection of this father’s life, an exploration of the intense emotions caused by that special era, and ultimately, a final reconciliation with herself.

Zhao Jing

Editor, Shanghai Translation Publishing House