Cho Chi-hun

Cho Chi-hun
Born	1971 (age 42–43)
Language	Korean
Nationality	South Korean
Ethnicity	Korean
Citizenship	South Korean

Cho Chi-hun
Hangul	조지훈
Hanja	趙芝薰
Revised Romanization	Jo Ji-hun
McCune–Reischauer	Cho Chihun

Cho Chi-hun was a Korean poet, critic, and activist.^[1]

Life

Cho was born on December 3, 1930 in Yeongyang, Gyeongsangbuk-do, during the period of Japanese rule.^[2] His birthname was Cho Dongtak, in Yeongyang, Gyeongsangbuk-do on December 3, 1920. He graduated from Hyehwa College in 1941 with a degree in Liberal Arts. He taught at Odaesan Buddhist College and in 1946, after Korean Liberation, founded the Association of Young Writers Cheongnyeon munhakga hyeophoe). Cho also served as president of the Korean Poets Association(Hanguk Siin hyeophoe) and from 1947 served as a professor at Korea University. Cho was also the first head of the Korea University National Culture Research Institute. He died on May 17, 1968. ^[3]

Cho's birthplace is preserved in Ilwol-myeon in Yeongyang. A memorial to him stands on Namsan in Seoul.

Work

The Korea Literature Translation Institute sums up Cho's work in the following way:

Fine classical beauty of Korea expressed in this work evokes within the reader a feeling of peace and tranquility. "The Grief of Phoenix" (Bonghwangsu), while keenly describing several secrets of the architectural beauty of the palace, contrasts those who held sovereign power in the Joseon era with the intellectuals of the colonial period, exposing the pain and tragic feelings of governed classes. These first poems of Cho Jihun, capturing the lyrical expression of Korea's traditional and national consciousness, are contained in 'The Blue Deer' (Cheongnokjip), written by the poet along with two others, Park Dujin and Park Mokwol.^[4]

Directly after Liberation, contemporary Cho Jihun emphasized that only those who guarded a purely poetic aesthetic could be considered poets, and asserted that the protection of individual freedom and the quest for the liberation of human nature was the essence of poetry. This literary purity and nationalistic fervor are proclaimed in the poet’s patriotic voice in his anthology, 'Standing Before History' (Yeoksa apeseo). The work criticizes, with a lucid historical consciousness, the political corruption and social irrationality engendered by the national division and internal strife of the day. In particular, "Dabuwoneseo" is one of the finest examples of war poetry that keenly depicts the tragic state of internal strife based on a personal experience. ^[5]

The following is a Korean-English presentation of one of his most famous poems:

The Dance of Buddhist Nun. 승무(僧舞)

얇은 사(紗) 하이얀 고깔은 고이 접어서 나빌레라.

The flimsy white silk'n hood, folded fairly,

I wonder it were a flying butterfly!

파르라니 깎은 머리 박사(薄紗) 고깔에 감추오고,

With pale blue color of head shaven

Under the flimsy silken hood hidden,

두 볼에 흐르는 빛이 정작으로 고와서 서러워라.

Streaming down from her cheeks, the rosy glows

Reveal her sheer beauty, yet airing rather sorrows.

빈 대(臺)에 황촉(黃燭)불이 말없이 녹는 밤에 오동(梧桐)잎 잎새마다 달이 지는데,

A night of yellow wax candle melting in silence,

On an empty stage,

From each paulownia leaves, the moon wanes;

소매는 길어서 하늘은 넓고,

돌아설 듯 날아가며 사뿐히 접어 올린 외씨보선이여.

The sleeves long to spread to a celestial width,

And tiny garment-socks, upfold'd sprightly,

Which, as if to turn around, do fly;

까만 눈동자 살포시 들어 먼 하늘 한 개 별빛에 모두오고,

With her dark pupils gracefully lifted high,

Focusing on light from one star afar in the sky;

복사꽃 고운 뺨에 아롱질 듯 두 방울이야 세사(世事)에 시달려도 번뇌(煩惱)는 별빛이라.

On cheeks of peach flowers, those two drops which dazzle to gleam,

Must be, though torn by earthly life, the tormenting agony of starbeam!

휘어져 감기우고 다시 접어 뻗는 손이 깊은 마음 속 거룩한 합장(合掌)인 양하고,

Her hands, wrapping around flexed then extending upfolded again,

Appear as if posing sacred bows with palms together from deep in;

이 밤사 귀또리도 지새우는 삼경(三更)인데, 얇은 사(紗) 하이얀 고깔은 고이 접어서 나빌레라.

On this deep night, as crickets all awake cry,

The flimsy white silk'n hood, folded fairly,

I wonder it were a flying butterfly!

(English Translation by MHLEE)

Works in Translation

• Brother Enemy (한국전쟁 시선집)

Works in Korean (partial

Criticism

• A Theory on History of Korean Culture

Poetry Anthologies

• The Blue Deer (Cheongnokjip)
• The Trimming of Grasses (Pullipdanjang)
• Selected Poems of Cho jihun
• Before History
• Lingering Resonance (Yeoun)

Essays

• Leaning against the Window (Change gidaeeo)
• Poetry and Life (Siwa insaeng)
• Theory of Integrity (Jijoron)
• Aesthetics of Rocks (Dorui mihak).

Awards

• Literature Prize of the Free Writers' Association, 1956

See also

• List of Korean language poets
• Korean poetry
• Korean literature
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/jon_edwards/507316557/in/photostream/

References

• Beongcheon Yu (1992), Han Yong-un & Yi Kwang-su : two pioneers of modern Korean literature, p. 164.

Persondata
Name	Cho, Chi-Hun
Alternative names
Short description	Korean writer
Date of birth	December 3, 1920
Place of birth
Date of death	May 17, 1968
Place of death