Life
Kim Yongtaek was born on September 28, 1948, inWork
Kim's work takes as its point of departure that which is forgotten in the bustle of modern life - the countryside, a leaf of grass, the smell of one's mother's hair. Kim's affectionate and delicate treatment of the everyday affairs of people living in the countryside offered urban dwellers an unadulterated account of rural farming communities. Underlying the poet's tender poetic sensibility is a stern voice of censure. In "Beat the Drums of Protest” (Madangeun bittureojyeosseodo jangguneun baro chija), for example, the poet offers a powerful disapprobation of city politicians and government policymakers who distort and pervert reports on the actual conditions confronting farmers in the countryside. Underlying Kim's poetic undertaking is the poet's candid desire to provide a sense of dignity to the rural community. This approach, however, has rendered the poet vulnerable to criticism as anachronistic and incapable of offering a solution to the harsh realities of modern society. Kim's desire for community, however, possesses a straightforward quality otherwise lacking in the sometimes convoluted theories of modernity. Kim's stance affirms the spirit of the people, whom he believes derive their identity and dignity from a long history of agrarian life. The robust critical spirit of his poetry derives from his use of the Jeolla-do dialect in poetic forms such as Gasa, Taryeong, andWorks in Korean (Partial)
* Seomjingang River (Seomjingang, 1985) * A Clear Day (1986) * Sister, the Day is Fading (1988) * The Road to Flower Mountain (1988) * Longing for a Flower Letter (1989) * Your Daring Love (1993) * However Crooked the Stage, Let's Play the Drum Right (1996)Awards
* 1986 the Kim Su-yeong Literature Award * 1997References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Yongtaek 1948 births Korean writers Living people South Korean male poets South Korean Buddhists