한국국제교류재단

1. You have written poetry for nearly 50 years. What has helped you over the years to achieve this feat?

This year marks the 50th anniversary of my literary debut in Korea. I feel grateful most of all, and feel nothing but gratitude as I think, “Oh, poetry hasn’t given up on me. Poetry has loved me as my mother did.” In the past, I thought I wrote poems because I loved poetry, but now I think I write poems because poetry loves me. And I’ve always believed that the most important value in my life comes from poetry.

2. You have been dubbed a “national poet” because of your broad appeal to all ages. How do you think you earned such popularity and fame?

Poetry enables us to understand people and the secret of human life—the secret of love, pain, life, and death. Through my poems, I’ve tried to understand the secret of life and its hidden meanings with readers. Among the many roles of poetry, I’ve also focused on its role of consoling and comforting people, and that probably has invited sympathy from a broad audience.

3. Many of your poems have been made into songs. Which of them are your favorites?

Poetry and music are one. Music is in poetry and vice versa. I don’t consider melodies when writing poems, but composers have a marvelous ability to discover melodies in my works. About 70 of my poems have been made into songs, but I feel a deep attachment to Lee Dong-won’s “Song of Parting,” An Chi-hwan’s “Hanging a Wind Chime,” Kim Kwang-seok’s “A Letter Not Sent,” and “Yang Hee-eun’s “To Daffodils.”

4. Certain works of yours including poetry collections and fairytales, have been translated into other languages and published overseas. What message would you like to send to readers worldwide through your works?

Each nation has its own history and culture, but the nature of human life is the same in every country. It’s important for readers of translated works to understand the history and culture of the country where a work originated from. Yet even more important is for such readers to understand human nature more deeply and broadly by reading translated works.

5. Your poems are said to be the least affected in meaning in the translation process, probably because you use easy and ordinary language in them. Why do you use simple language?

Language is the means of expression for poetry. Had it not been for Hangeul, I may have been unable to write poems. I try to write poems in easy Korean, our everyday language. I’m more interested in concrete words than conceptual and abstract ones. I pay attention to the universality of communication because poetry isn’t just a diary for myself but literary works to be read and shared by others.

6. Your poems have elicited feelings of pity and sympathy for alienated people. What role do you think poetry can play in the issue of minorities in Korean society?

Minority groups often suffer violation of their rights and alienation under a powerful majority. Our society cannot be formed only by people in the majority and thus must pay attention to minority groups. Accordingly, poetry needs to concretely put the lives of minorities in poetic bowls. Fundamentally, poetry is on the side of minority groups and the weak, rather than that of the majority.