Language Learning Journal #2
“Prelude” - Yun Dong-ju
David Kim
30262888
david.kim123@richmond.edu
As I said in my learning plan, I wanted to learn more about Korean literature, especially poetry. One of the famous poems that I already knew was ‘Prelude’ (Seoshi) by Yun Dong-ju. Poet Yun Dong-ju was born in Bukgando on December 30, 1917. He passed away on February 16, 1945, a few months before Korea's liberation. He wasn't a fighter leading independence movements with a gun or knife. He was not a famous poet of his time. However, he was influenced by Jeong Ji-yong's poetry and opened a new world of poetry that expressed sincere feelings in easy words. Yun Dong-ju sublimated the madness of Japanese imperialism into agony and melted it into poetry to capture his life. For that reason, his poetry contains his own life, struggles, and self-reflection. Several symbolic poetic words appear in Prelude. Natural objects like the sky, wind, stars, leaves, and night are iconic poetic terms. The poetic word Sky is expressed as an omnipotent figure that evaluates him. The term wind was used in a negative sense as a being that shakes him, a being that makes him suffer, as it is used in many poems. The word Star also means purity and ideals as the symbol of stars. Leaf Bird can be interpreted as citizens like us who are nothing special. Night means the background of the times, the Japanese colonial era. Rather than using a special method of expression, Prelude is a poem of self-reflection as if he is looking back at his life. The first sentence that makes up line one and line two is a well-known sentence in South Korea. It shows that he wants to live a life without shame that even the sky, an omnipotent being, admits. Line three and line four confess that he was distressed by small conflicts that came to him. Line five and line six show that he will not fall for these conflicts and temptations. "The heart of singing stars" will pursue hope and the ideal world. "I should love all dying" refers to the love of his people and their lives. Line seven and line eight say, "I will walk the path given to me." It means that he will carry out his destiny and mission, to make his own way for independence and liberation. The last line of the poem states that the stars keep passing by in the wind tonight. In other words, he is trying to express that it was a difficult time to dream about hope and independence. When reading and studying Prelude, I knew that it would be important to connect this poem with the Japanese colonial era due to the circumstances when it was written. Prelude emphasizes that it was written during a negative period. It also emphasizes the writer's willingness not to be swayed by any suffering or struggles. Reading Yun Dong-ju's prelude made me want to know more about the poet Yun Dong-ju. It was impressive to see how someone could write such a beautiful poem in this frustrating situation. Through more literature work, I not only want to improve my language ability but also have a better understanding of Korean culture and history.
Korean Resource
http://www.theviews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=459
https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0027887
English Resource
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