Sŏ Chŏng-ju

Sŏ Chŏng-ju
Hangeul	서정주
Hanja	徐廷 柱
Revised Romanization	Seo Jeong-ju
McCune- Reischauer	Sŏ Chŏng-ju
See also : Korean name

Sŏ Chŏng-ju (born May 18, 1915 in Koch'ang , Chŏllabuk-do ; † December 24, 2000 ) was one of the most famous poets of South Korea .

Life

Sŏ Chŏng-ju was born on May 18, 1915 in Koch'ang , North Chŏlla Province . His stage names are Midang (미당 | 未 堂) and Kungbal (궁발 | 窮 髮). He made his debut in 1936 with the poem Die Wand , which was selected for a literary competition by the Dong-a Ilbo . Together with Kim Tong-ni and Ham Hyŏng-su he founded a literary magazine and started his literary career. After the liberation in 1945 he was actively involved in founding the Association of Korean Literary Youth (조선 청년 문학가 협회) and in 1949 one of the founding members of the Korean Writers' Association (한국 문인 협회).

Charles Baudelaire's influence is particularly evident in his early works. The first collection of poems The grass snake (화사 집) explores people's awareness of original sin and medieval vitality against the background of local or indigenous colors. After the liberation, however, the concept of original sin and predestination was replaced by the search for infinite life, which plays a major role in Eastern philosophy.

With his work Silla (신라 초) he reached a new literary level. The ancient kingdom of Silla has been the source of his artistic inspiration and metaphysical point of view for some time. Instead of a historical unity, however, it is much more an empire that is equivalent to an imaginary homeland in which nature and people live in perfect harmony. As a thematic basis, the work treats a Silla fairy tale that is rooted in Buddhist beliefs and breathes new life into the concept of karma and the philosophy of Zen Buddhism.

Sŏ examines the elementary problems of life in order to grasp the eternal nature of existence, while at the same time trying to achieve linguistic perfection. Although he generally leaned towards Baudelaire's aestheticism in his early works , he quickly recognized the limits inherent in such an approach and adopted the Religio Perennis , which is rooted in the Eastern mindset. In the second half of his career, he focused on the soul and legends of Silla. The result of his artistic journey and his intellectual endeavors is a magnificent imagination and exquisite linguistic sensitivity.

Work

Korean

Poetry collections

• 화사 집 The grass snake (1941)
• 귀촉도 The cuckoo (1946)
• 시선 Collection of poems (1955)
• 신라 초 Silla (1960)
• 동천 Eastern Sky (1968)
• 질마재 신화 The Legend of Chilmajae (1975)
• 늙은 떠돌이 의 시 Poems by an Old Wanderer (1993)

Translations

English

• Unforgettable Things, Pace International Research (1986), ISBN 978-0872960282
• Early Lyrics 1941-1960, The Poems by SO Chong-Ju (Midang) , Cornell Univ. East Asia Program (1998), ISBN 978-1885445902 ( English excerpts on the website of Sogang University ( Memento of December 16, 2004 in the Internet Archive ))
• Poems of a Wanderer , Daedalus Publishing Company (1995) ISBN 978-1873790731

Spanish

• Por la escalera del arco iris. Muestra de literatura coreaca actual , Arlequín (2010) ISBN 978-9687463612
• Poemas de un niño vagabundo de ochenta años y otros poemas escogidos , Verbum (2009) ISBN 978-8479621575
• Junto al crisantemo , Editorial Universidad Complutense (1988) ISBN 978-8474912418
• Poemas , Editorial Universidad Complutense, (1995) ISBN 9788489365124

Awards

• 2000 - 금관 문화 훈장 ( Order for Cultural Merit in Gold )
• 2000 - 대한민국 예술 원상 ( Korean Art Academy Award )
• 2000 - 자유 문학상 ( Freedom Literature Prize )
• 1987 - 제 22 회 5.16 민족 상 ( National Prize of May 16 )
• 1986 - 동국 문화상 ( Tongguk Literature Prize )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ For other common transcriptions, see also Korean Literature Authors Name Authority Database: M ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on June 14, 2014 
2. ↑ 다음 백과 사전: 서정주 Retrieved June 14, 2014 (Korean)
3. ↑ Author Database of LTI Korea: Seo Jeongju ( Memento of the original from June 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on June 14, 2014 

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Korean. Sŏ is the family name here, Chŏng-ju is the first name.