Cho Chi-hun (; December 3, 1920 – May 17, 1968) was a Korean poet, critic, and activist.
["Cho Jihun" LTI Korea Datasheet available at LTI Korea Library or online at: ]
Biography
Cho Chi-hun was born on December 3, 1920, in
Yeongyang,
Keishōhoku Province
, alternatively Keishōhoku Province, Keisho Hoku, or North Keishō Province, was a province of Korea under Japanese rule. Its capital was at Taikyū (Daegu). The province consisted of what is now the South Korean province of North Gyeongsang a ...
,
Korea, Empire of Japan
From 1910 to 1945, Korea was ruled by the Empire of Japan under the name Chōsen (), the Japanese reading of "Joseon".
Japan first took Korea into its sphere of influence during the late 1800s. Both Korea (Joseon) and Japan had been under polic ...
. His birthname was Cho Dong-tak. 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
Society of Korean Poets
The Society of Korean Poets () is a literary organization established in 1957. It is the oldest active poetry organization in South Korea.
Every year, the organization awards the Society of Korean Poets Award, and holds the National High School ...
(Hanguk Siin hyeophoe) and from 1947 served as a professor at Korea University. Cho Chi-hun was also the first head of the Korea University National Culture Research Institute. He died on May 17, 1968.
Cho Chi-hun's birthplace is preserved in
Irwol-myeon in Yeongyang. A memorial to him stands on
Namsan
Namsan () is a peak in Jung District, Seoul, South Korea. It was also known as Mongmyeoksan () in the past. It offers some hiking, picnic areas and views of downtown Seoul's skyline. The N Seoul Tower is located at the summit of Namsan.
The ...
in Seoul.
Work
Of Cho Chi-hun's writing, the
Korea Literature Translation Institute writes:
: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 Anthology' (Cheongrokjip), a joint collection shared with two others, Pak Tu-jin and Pak Mog-wol
Pak Mok-wol (, 6 January 1916 – 24 March 1978) was an influential Korean poet and academic.
Personal life
He was born Pak Yeongjong on January 6, 1916, in Moryang Village, Seo-myeon, Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, in present-day South K ...
.
: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.
The Nun's Dance
Cho Chi-hun's early love of Korean tradition is expressed in his poem "The Nun's Dance" (승무(僧舞).
The origin of the dance antedates the introduction of Buddhism into Korea and expresses the traditional Korean philosophy of the harmony of heaven and earth. Popularly, however, it is taken to represent the inner conflict of an apostate nun, or the sorrow of a beautiful woman's renunciation of her erotic past, which the poet references. The dancer Han Yong-Suk used to claim that it was her performance which inspired the poet, after he had watched it many times.
[Lee-Kyong-hee, "Epitome of Korean Folk Dance" in ''Moving History/Dancing Cultures'', Wesleyan University 2001]
pp.174-6
/ref>
Works in Translation
* ''Brother Enemy'' ()
Works in Korean (partial)
Criticism
* A Theory on History of Korean Culture
Anthologies
* The Blue Deer
* Short Lines over Grasses:풀잎 단장(斷章)
* Selected Poems of Cho Chi-hun
* Stand Before History
* Lingering Resonance
* Stylish Antique Costumes:고풍의상(古風依裳)
Essays
* Leaning against the Window
* Poetry and Life
* Theory of Integrity
* Aesthetics of Rocks.
Awards
*Literature Prize of the Free Writers' Association, 1956
See also
*List of Korean-language poets
This is a list of Korean-language poets.
Twentieth-century poets
Alphabetical list
A
* An Heon-mi (born 1972)
B
* Baek Seok (1912–1996)
* Bok Koh-il (born 1946)
C
* Chae Ho-ki (born 1957)
* Cheon Sang-byeong (1930–1993)
* Cheon Yang-hee ( ...
*Korean poetry
Korean poetry is poetry performed or written in the Korean language or by Korean people. Traditional Korean poetry is often sung in performance. Until the 20th century, much of Korean poetry was written in Hanja.
History
The performance of oral ...
*Korean literature
Korean literature is the body of literature produced by Koreans, mostly in the Korean language and sometimes in Classical Chinese. For much of Korea's 1,500 years of literary history, it was written in Hanja. It is commonly divided into classi ...
*Society of Korean Poets
The Society of Korean Poets () is a literary organization established in 1957. It is the oldest active poetry organization in South Korea.
Every year, the organization awards the Society of Korean Poets Award, and holds the National High School ...
References
External links
Yeongyang Jihun Literary House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cho, Chi-hun
1920 births
1968 deaths
South Korean male poets
20th-century South Korean poets
20th-century South Korean male writers