Yoo An-Jin (born 1941) is a South Korean poet, essayist, and professor.
1. Life
Yoo An-Jin was born April 21, 1941 in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do. She studied education at Seoul National University and at the University of Florida. She made her literary debut publishing the poems "Dal" (달 Moon), "Byeol" (별 Stars), and "Wiro" (위로 Consolation), which appeared in Hyundae Munhak between 1965 to 1967 at the recommendation of the poet Park Mok-wol. In 1986 she gained national renown for the essay collection Jiranjigyoreul kkumkkumyeo (지란지교를 꿈꾸며 Dreaming of a Beautiful Friendship), co-authored with fellow poets Yi Hyang-a and Shin Dalja.
Yoo has taught at Dankook University and Seoul National University. Her poems have been included in a number of middle- and high-school textbooks. In 2006 she retired from Seoul National University and became an emeritus professor there. In 2012 she became a member of the National Academy of Arts. She has received many prestigious literary awards, including the Sowol Poetry Award, Chong Chi-Yong Literature Prize and the Kim Sakkat Literary Award.
2. Writing
Yoo An-Jin first gained renown for her essays, beginning with her contribution to the prose collection Jiranjigyoreul kkumkkumyeo. The book, which also included essays by Yi Hyang-a and Shin Dalja, met with great popular acclaim, and made her name practically a household word. The lyrical style of her essays won her the hearts of many sensitive middle and high school students. This led to Yoo's expanding her talent to other literary genres.
Yoo has carried out various aesthetic experiments in her attempts to establish a position and identity for contemporary women. She attempts to cast a soft revelatory light on areas of society which have gone unnoticed. Her poetic voice, most often a mother, wife, sister or daughter-in-law, speaks to the reader in a soft tone, while closely observing the world around them to seek salvation in their complex lives.
Yoo spares little effort to discover the true self hidden in the small things in daily life. Her efforts to resolve tensions between self and world through the exploration of various modes of women's lives, is not a coarse chanting of slogans, but declarations of a poetic nature, communicated softly, like whispers. This only adds to their persuasiveness.
