Hwang Ji-U (born 1952) is a Korean poet and art critic.
1. Life
Hwang Ji-U was born in Haenam, South Jeolla Province. He developed a deep interest in poetry while studying aesthetics at Seoul National University and philosophy at Sogang University. Active in literary circles in college, Hwang participated in several anti-government protests and was forcefully drafted into military service. After being discharged from the army, he was expelled from university for his involvement in anti- government activities and was subjected to imprisonment and torture.
He made his literary debut in 1980, winning the JoongAng Ilbo New Writer's Contest for "Yeonhyeok" (연혁 History) and publishing "Daedabeomneun naldeureul wihayeo" (대답없는 날들을 위하여 For Days Without Answers) in Literature and Intelligence. The agonies and passions of his younger years are demonstrated in undertones throughout his poems, and artistically, if also painfully, sublimated against the background of the political conditions of his era.
Hwang has worked as a professor of creative writing at Hansin University. He has also served as president of Korea National University of Arts.
2. Writing
Hwang Ji-U's poetry is distinguished by both its intricate, exquisitely lyrical descriptions of human sensuality and its frustration and anxiety towards reality. His poetry contains a binary texture, both coarse and delicate. Another distinguishing characteristic of Hwang's poetry is its strong political consciousness. Hwang largely uses two methods to deliver his political message, in the coded symbolism of "Kkonmal," (꽃말 Language of Flowers), and the satire and sarcasm of "Geunhwang" (근황 Lately) and "Bakjwi" (박쥐 Bats). The latter method is commonly employed in other political or propagandistic poetry, though Hwang's usage is unique in its origin in the poet's own experience, which ultimately leads the imagination of readers.
His first collection, Saedeuldo sesangeul tteuneunguna (새들도 세상을 뜨는구나 Even the Birds are Leaving the World), conveys a strong sense of antagonism toward the existing world. In the title poem of the collection, for instance, the poet offers a parody of the concept of the nation-family, destined to satirize the false rhetoric of patriotism or the absolutism of the nation state. In its style, the poem consists of radically experimental language that breaks the rules of existing grammar. Advertisements, newspaper articles, comic strips and even graffiti become objects of a poetic imagination intent on deconstructing authority, customs, and in the end, the poetic form itself. [1]
Perhaps a more important aspect of Hwang Ji-U’s poetry is the vitality of its language, the vividness of imagery; he is a poet with a unique linguistic sensibility that is impossible to imitate. From his second collection on, Gyeoul namurobuteo bom namuero (겨울 나무로부터 봄나무에로 From Winter Trees to Spring Trees), Hwang explores the question of life’s meaning, sometimes singing of its utter meaninglessness and at others attempting to find the meaning of existence within conventional and essentially meaningless daily life. As he moves through these moods, his poems reveal thoughts of self-mockery, the transient twists and turns of a dark life and capture them in brilliant images. Hwang is frequently considered a particularly skillful stylist and imagist. [1]
Reference
[1] Yi, Nam-Ho, et al. Twentieth Century Korean Literature. Eastbridge Books, An Imprint Of Camphor Press, 2005. p.73-74.
