Do Jong-hwan

Do Jong Hwan
Member of the National Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office 30 May 2016
Preceded by	Roh Young-min
Constituency	Heungdeok District, Cheongju
In office 30 May 2012 – 29 May 2016
Constituency	Proportional Representation
Personal details
Born	1954 (age 69–70)
Citizenship	South Korean
Nationality	South Korean
Political party	Democratic Party of Korea

Korean name
Hangul	도종환
Hanja	都鐘煥
Revised Romanization	Do Jong-hwan
McCune–Reischauer	To Chong-hwan

Do Jong Hwan (This is the author's preferred Romanization per LTI Korea) is a Korean poet

Life

Do Jong Hwan (born September 27, 1954 in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea) was an ordinary school teacher and a part-time poet until the death of his wife—just two years after they married—compelled him to write Hollyhocks, a collection of love poems which brought him critical acclaim and instant fame. After his wife’s death, Do has endeavored to embrace his life more fully. With the goal of improving educational standards, he served as the regional director for a teacher’s union, and was also active as a regional leader for an organization promoting democracy. Though he lost his job as a teacher and was even jailed for his activities, he has continued to fight for justice and better future.

Work

Written in part as a tribute to his deceased wife who reminded him of hollyhocks, Hollyhocks makes palpable the poet’s grief at the sudden loss of his love and the intense longing for the happiness he shared with his wife. When he turns away “leaving a song by her grave,” she follows him home “in the weeping of nameless insects;” when he heads home, “leaving a tear drop upon her grave,” she becomes “the rain that soaks through the core of (his) body.” In order to overcome his anguish and despair, the poet embraces the world with a new perspective. Through his suffering, the poet has realized that life must go on even if it is more painful than death.

Since that time Do has also written about the issue of Division of Korea, depicting the difficulties on a single people in a divided country, Do opens up new possibilities for the unification of North Korea and South Korea. He is the recipient of many Korean literary prizes.

Works in Korean (Partial)

• In Godumi Village (1985)
• You, My Hollyhock (1986)
• You Whom I Love (1988)
• Who Are You (1993)
• A Flower Falls in the Village of People (1994)
• Soft Straight Line (1998)
• The Root of Sorrow (2002)