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Cho Byeonghwa

Cho Byeonghwa scrap

조병화

  • Category

    Poetry

  • Target User

    Adult 성인

  • Period

    Contemporary 현대

Author Bio 작가 소개

Cho Byunghwa (1921 – 2003) was a South Korean poet, critic and essayist. 

1. Life

Cho Byunghwa was born in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, during the period of Japanese rule. He graduated from Gyeongseong Normal School in Seoul, and in 1945 he completed his studies at Tokyo Teachers College with a major in physics. He then taught at Inchon Middle School and Seoul High School. He made his literary debut in 1949, publishing his first collection of poems, Beorigo sipeun yusan (버리고 싶은 유산 The Heritage I Want to Disown). Cho`s academic career began with his 1959 appointment to Kyung Hee University, where he rose to become dean of the graduate school of education. In 1981 he left to become head of the literary faculty at Inha University, and later became dean of the graduate school there. Cho occupied leading positions in such organizations as the Korean Poets` Association, the Korean Writers` Association, the Korea Arts Council and the Korean Academy of Arts and Letters. He was also president of the 4th World Congress of Poets, held in Seoul in 1979. In 1999 he was awarded an honorary degree from Victoria University, Australia. 

2. Writing

Cho officially entered the literary world in 1949 with his book of poems, Beorigo sipeun yusan, which was soon followed by more collections. His early works were written in standard form and rhythm, and expressed the love, joys and sorrow of modern man. His later works give insight into the existence and fate of humanity. He was an extraordinarily prolific poet, using a frank conversational style, although often employing fragmented grammar and broken phrases. Cho has been lauded as a poet who tore down the notion that modern poetry must be obscure and won the sympathy of many readers by his candid expression in everyday language of the sentiments and experiences of his own life. For some critics, however, his vision is too self-centered and pays scant attention to the social or political dimensions underlying the realities he describes. Thus the critical reception of his poetry divides between admiration of its harmony while noting that it lacks innovation. The sheer volume of his published work, which includes 44 poetry collections among his 130 books, has probably done him a disservice. Besides poetry, he published four books of poetic theory, including Bami gamyeon achimi onda (밤이 가면 아침이 온다 When Night Goes, Morning Comes), and nearly thirty collections of essays, including Siinui bimangnok (시인의 비망록 A Poet`s Notebook), as well as albums of his paintings.

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