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Sea of Jeju 1

Posted December. 01, 2018 07:58,   

Updated December. 01, 2018 07:58

한국어

Jeju-born Korean poet Moon Chung-sung, who had written his works in his hometown, passed away last month. Obviously, the poet’s affection for the island was great enough for him to be nicknamed "poet of Jeju." From birth to death, Jeju was always there for him. His first work is titled "Sea of Jeju," which is same with the title of his first collection. He became famous for "Sea of Jeju."

In one of his poems, the poet writes that only a person who was born in Jeju knows the genuine aspects of its seas. It matters that you learn the sea of Jeju truly and remember it as part of yourself. Then, how can we interpret what he calls "true"? For him, it was all about the tears of his mother. The sea was where you suffer and tolerate crazily hitting tidal waves. Furthermore, the sea of Jeju was a life as young and fresh as barley as well as a storage of his youth.

You would learn a fact as you listen to all the stories that he writes about the sea of Jeju: He watched every aspect of the sea when the sun gets it red and yellow, and it roars, waves, deepens and backs off. The poet looked, recorded and missed the sea all the time. In other words, he fancied the sea of Jeju. When did we ever love something so desperately? We bow to the poems immersed with love. Jeju brightens in the deep love of the poet.


Won-Joo Lee takeoff@donga.com