Choi Dong-ho (born 1948) is a South Korean poet, critic, and professor. He studied Korean literature at Korea University at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He taught Korean literature until his retirement at Korea University, where he is professor emeritus. He published his first poetry collection in 1976, and debuted as a critic when his critical essay won the Joongang Ilbo New Writer’s Contest in 1979. He has written a number of monographs on the spirit of poetry, Eastern poetics, and geukseojeongsi ("extreme lyric poetry"), a term he coined to describe short, easy to understand, and highly evocative poetry. He won the Park Dujin Literary Award in 2009 and the Yushim Award in 2013. Currently, he serves as the president of the Society of Korean Poets and Sisarang Arts and Culture Association.
1. Life
Choi Dong-ho was born in Suwon, South Korea in 1948. He moved frequently in childhood because his father, being a civil servant, was stationed at various cities like Busan, Samcheonpo, Yeosu, and Mokpo. After starting high school, he took a great interest in literature, philosophy, and history. He enrolled in the Korean Literature program at Korea University in 1966, and received his master's and doctoral degrees there. In 1988, he became an associate professor of Korean literature at the school. He is now professor emeritus at Korea University and chair professor at Kyungnam University.
In 1976, Hwangsa baram (황사 바람 Yellow Dust Wind), an edited version of a poetry notebook Choi kept since his undergraduate years, was published by Youlhwadang. Choi began working as a critic when his essay, "Kkot, geu sijeok hyeongsangui gujowa mihak." (꽃, 그 시적 형상의 구조와 미학 The Structure and Aesthetics of the Flower's Poetic Imagery), won the Joongang Ilbo New Writer’s Contest in 1979. He founded the literary journals Mireseojung and Lyric Poetry and Poetics.
He has served in a number of positions, including: the president of The Korean Poetics Society, Korean Literature Critics Association, Korean Society of Criticism, and Hwang Sun-Won Society; the director of LTI Korea and The Daesan Foundation; and a member of Arts Council Korea. In 1990, he created the Kim Daljin Literary Prize in honor of the first anniversary of the poet's death and headed the prize committee. In 1996, he organized the inaugural Kim Daljin Literary Festival in Jinhae, South Korea.
He is the winner of the Socheon Lee Heon-gu Literary Criticism Award (1991), Hyundae Buddhist Literary Award for Poetry (1996), Poetry and Poetics Award for Criticism (1996), Kim Hwan-tae Literary Criticism Award (1998), Pyeon-un Literature Award for Criticism (1999), Daesan Literary Award for Criticism (2006), Hyesan Park Dujin Literary Award (2009), and Gosan Yun Seon-do Literary Award for Modern Poetry (2009).
2. Writing
Choi Dong-ho is a celebrated lyrical poet and poetry critic in South Korea. He has stressed the importance of spiritualism and geukseojeong ("extreme lyricism") in his critical essays. Lyrical poetry has been declining in the South Korean modern literary scene, perhaps due to industrialization and the spread of digital culture. Nevertheless, Choi argues that the value of lyric poetry does not decrease even if the times change. He is concerned with how literature and language can retain their vitality in the digital age and how art can connect emotionally with readers. He also writes about the significance of Eastern philosophy and ecologism in today's society and how to write poems that embody those ideologies. Such ruminations are reflected in his own poetry.
Choi's poetry continuously asks questions about existence and essence. His early works explore existence and the place of existence through sound and shadow. In particular, he examines the paradoxical relationship between existence and non-existence in his second poetry collection Achim cheksang (아침책상 Morning Desk), and probes the issue further in his third collection Ttakttagurineun eodie sumeoitneunga (딱따구리는 어디에 숨어있는가 Where Is the Woodpecker Hiding?). His subsequent works Gongnori haneun dalma (공놀이 하는 달마 Bodhidharma Playing Ball) and Eoreum eolgul (얼음얼굴 Ice Face) are regarded as inquiries into existence taken to the extreme. His later poetry collections link the issue of existence to basic tenets of Eastern philosophy. Choi evokes Buddhist thought on the void by referring to shadow, empty space, ghosts, and other intangibles. He describes empty space as not simply a space that contains nothing, but a place of creation and demise. Choi's poems, which perceive this empty space and the void, can thus be considered a culmination of spiritualist literature that deals with the beginning and end of existence.
