Yun Dong-ju
| Yun Dong-ju | |
 | |
| Korean name | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 윤동주 |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Yun Dong-ju |
| McCune–Reischauer | Yun Tongju |
| Art name | |
| Hangul | 해환 |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Haehwan |
| McCune–Reischauer | Haehwan |
Template:Korean name Yun Dong-ju (December 30, 1917 – February 16, 1945) was a Korean poet active during the period of Japanese rule. Known for his writing of lyric poetry as well as resistance poetry against Japanese, he was born in Longjing, Jiandao, in present-day northeastern China. In the Japanese language, he was called Intouchu
Life
Yun Dong-ju was the eldest son among the 4 children of his father Yun Yeong-seok and his mother Kim Yong. As a child he was called "Haehwan" (해환, 海煥). On December 27, 1941 at the age of 23 years, 11 months, 27 days, he graduated from Yeonhui Technical School, which later became Yonsei University. He had been writing poetry from time to time, and chose 19 poems to publish in a collection he intended to call "Sky, Wind, Star, and Poem" (하늘과 바람과 별과 시), but he was unable to get it published.
In 1942, he went to Japan and entered the English literature department of Rikkyo University in Tokyo, before moving to Doshisha University in Kyoto six months later. On July 14, 1943, he was arrested as a thought criminal by the Japanese police and detained at the Kamogawa Police Station in Kyoto. The following year, the Kyoto regional court sentenced him to two years of prison on the charge of having participated in the independence movement. He was imprisoned in Fukuoka, where he died in February 1945.
In November 1968, Yonsei University and others established an endowment for the Yun Tong-ju Poetry Prize.
Sky, Wind, Star and Poem
In January 1948, 31 of his poems were published by Jeongeumsa, together with an introduction by fellow poet Chong Ji-yong; this work was also titled Sky, Wind, Star, and Poem. His poetry gave a huge impact. In 1976, Yun's relatives collected his other poems and added at the third edition of the book. The poems that are enlisted in the this edition (116 in total) is considered to be most of Yun's works.
In a 1986 survey, he was selected as 'the most popular poet among the youths'[1].To this day, he is still one of the most popular and most beloved poets of all time in Korea.
As shown in his most famous poem "Prologue", his poems capture daily activity in a sensuous view. Common recurring themes are thoughtful consideration of the human being, the world, introspect and self-reflection.
|
《서시》 |
Prologue |
|
죽는 날까지 하늘을 우러러 |
May I look up into the heavens until the day I die |
|
한점 부끄럼이 없기를, |
Without a bit of shame |
|
잎새에 이는 바람에도 |
From even the wind rustling the leaves |
|
나는 괴로워했다. |
I have suffered. |
|
별을 노래하는 마음으로 |
With the heart singing the stars |
|
모든 죽어가는 것을 사랑해야지. |
I shall love all that is to die |
|
그리고 나한테 주어진 길을 |
And the path given me |
|
걸어가야겠다. |
I shall walk |
|
오늘밤에도 별이 바람에 스치운다. |
Tonight also, the stars are touched by the wind |
See also
References
Yu, Jong-ho (1996). "Yun, Tong-ju". Who's who in Korean literature. Seoul: Hollym. pp. 554–555. ISBN 1-56591-066-4.