Apocalyptic Words: D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930) and Kim Kirim (1908–?)

Abstract

This study explores how the Korean modernist poet Kim Kirim (1908–?) attempted to understand the apocalyptic period of the late Japanese empire and how this may be compared with a similar theme in D. H. Lawrence. The outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 and the Pacific War in 1941 marked an apocalyptic period for most Korean writers living under colonial rule. The Governor-General of Korea had forbidden them to write in their mother tongue and many writers, although they became silent by the end of the Pacific War, utilized apocalyptic motifs suggesting the end of world history. This study sheds light on Kim Kirim’s writings published during the time and investigates his perspective on apocalypse within the civilizational conflict.