Chyung JinKyu (1939 – 2017) was a South Korean writer.
1. Life
Chyung JinKyu was born on October 19, 1939 in Anseong, Gyeonggi-do. Chyung attended Anseong Agricultural School, and then graduated from Korea University in 1964 with a degree in Korean Literature. He made his literary debut in 1960, winning the Dong-a Ilbo New Writer's Award with the poem "Napal seojeong" (나팔 서정 Ode to a Trumpet). He published his first collection of poetry, Mareun susukkangui pyeonghwa (마른 수수깡의 평화 The Peace of Sorghum Straws), in 1965.
He taught creative writing at Korea University, Soonchunhyang University, and Hanyang Women's University.
His poetry collections include Mareun susukkangui pyeonghwa, Deulpanui biin jibiroda (들판의 비인 집이로다 Empty House in the Field), Maedallyeo isseumui sesang (매달려 있음의 세상 World of Hanging On), Bieo isseumui chungmaneul wihayeo (비어 있음의 충만을 위하여 Towards the Plenitude of Emptiness), Ppyeoe daehayeo (뼈에 대하여 On Bones), Byeoldeurui batangeun eodumi mattanghada (별들의 바탕은 어둠이 마땅하다 Stars Shine in Darkness), Momsi (몸시 Body Poems), among others.
He is the recipient of the Association of Korean Poets Award (1980), the Woltan Literature Prize (1984), the Hyundae Munhak Literature Prize (1986), and the Gongcho Literature Prize (2001).
2. Writing
While many poets focused on larger political issues Chyung displayed linguistic sensibility as he sang of life’s ambiguities and the contradictions of the times from a personal viewpoint. His early poetry is characterized by its beautiful, exquisite language, and its deep immersion in self-consciousness. From the mid-1960s, the poet grappled in his work with the conflict between life and poetry, which in turn, caused the poet serious inner turmoil. He attempted to overcome this essential conflict in his critical essays, "Siui aemaehame daehayeo" (시의 애매함에 대하여 On the Ambiguity of Poetry) and "Siui jeongjikhame daehayeo" (시의 정직함에 대하여 On the Honesty of Poetry).
After the publication of his collection Deulpanui biin jibiroda, he began to incorporate elements of prose into his poetry, which enabled him to shift from a focus on individual to collective consciousness. In order to sustain this stylistic transformation, the poet engaged in a process that reaffirmed the fundamental poetical quality of his work. This process contributed to a significant development in Jung's aesthetic. One critic noted that Chyung JinKyu transfers the rhythm of nature with the eyes that discover the depth of human lives in nature.
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