Not many people can say that they were close with the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, even though he was known for his folksy disposition and down-to-earth upbringing.

Kim Soo-kyung, a 65-year-old woman of many titles including poet, businesswoman and book editor, however, confidently refers to Roh (1946-2009) as one of her friends. They first met at a Korean barbecue restaurant in Mapo-gu, western Seoul, in 1989. They ate together, went to a noraebang (karaoke) with other friends and talked about many subjects.

She has fictionalized her memories about Roh. “My Private Roh Moo-hyun” sheds light on their friendship, mostly in the days before Roh became president in 2003. It is interesting from cover to cover and expected to draw attention from those who want to hear lesser-known anecdotes about the late president, who took his life in 2009 shortly after his presidential term ended.

Kim says her book is different from other biographies of the late president, who died at age 62, on account of the wealth of details about his life.

“It is fiction,” Kim said during a press conference earlier this month.

Kim chose to write in fiction to capture her emotions and memories about Roh more subjectively: “If I write a biography, I am supposed to provide proof in every sentence.”

She said that Roh is a historical figure and that even though she wrote fiction, all the episodes are based on truth ― her side of the truth, to be exact. In the 400-page novel, Kim herself is the protagonist, and she reflects on her encounters with and thoughts about the president, including when Roh said he wanted to become president of South Korea in 1996 after losing the general elections twice ― once while running as a representative of a district of Busan in 1992 and again while running for the constituency of Jung-gu, Seoul, in 1996.

It took her 10 months to write the novel. She looked over her blog, memos and schedule books, while interviewing people, to retrieve her scattered memories. “There were moments of emotional surges when I was writing,” she said.

“Roh was one of the (most) honest persons I have ever met,” said Kim. “Our opinions didn’t always match, but at least we were able to speak out, though bluntly.”

Kim has been regarded as one of Roh’s political patrons for many years. “When people dismissed our friendship as a pecuniary relation between patrons and clients, it was very saddening,” said the author.

“In order to be a patron, I should receive some kind of benefit from the relationship,” said Kim. “It was not for any monetary or political gains, but I simply liked and admired Roh and his vision.”

She felt like she could no longer write poems or novels unless she set down this period of her life in writing.

Kim was aware that some people might misconstrue their friendship as a romantic relationship. “Even for me, it is hard to define, but you can imagine (our friendship as something) along the lines of the intellectual friendship between German political theorist Hannah Ardendt and German literary critic Walter Benjamin,” she reflected.

The book also contains a section on the late singer Shin Hae-chul, who died in October. Noting that Shin composed “Insomina,” “Suicide” and “Wasteland” in 2012 to commemorate the third anniversary of Roh’s death, she said, “I wanted to invite Shin to today’s press conference, but I found out that he was in a coma, and after a few days, he passed away.” “Insomnia” was played for the first time in public at the press conference.

Kim Eoun-ho, president of the publisher Hangilsa, said that it will publish two more books on Roh as part of a series. The second book, tentatively titled “This is Novel,” will deal with Roh’s tenure as president. It will come at the end of this year.

The third book, “Divorce at 62,” will delve into its author’s personal life to examine how a nation can influence an individual’s life.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)