Kim Yeongrang (birth name: Kim Yoon-sik, 1903-1950) was a Korean poet. Considered as one of the greatest lyric poets in Korea, he is most famous for his ground-breaking work Morani pigikkajineun (모란이 피기까지는 Until Peonies Bloom) published in 1943.1) As a major figure in the school of poetic literature, he led the Pure Poetry Movement2) along with Park Yongcheol and Chong Chi-Yong
1. Life
He was born in 1903 in Gangjin, North Jeolla Province as the eldest of five children in a wealthy landowning family. He grew up studying Chinese literature, and graduated from Gangjin Elementary School in 1915, before moving to Seoul to study English at the Christian Youth Center. In 1917, he enrolled at Whimoon High School. Following the March 1st Independence Movement, he returned to Gangjin, where he was caught in possession of the Declaration of Independence and was subsequently jailed for six months, which hindered him from graduating from Whimoon High School. In the following year, he went to Japan to study for a degree in English at Aoyama University. In the wake of the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, he returned to Korea to focus on his writing career.
During his time at Whimoon High School, his friendship with the likes of Hong Sa-yong helped develop his literary outlook. It was at Aoyama University that he met Park Yongcheol, who was to become his lifelong friend. Not only did Park first encourage Kim to write poetry, but also, he remained an ardent supporter of his work.3) Kim’s writing career was prompted by the literary journals Poetic Literature 4) and Munhak 5)—both published by Park Yongcheol. Kim made his debut as a poet in March 1930 by publishing “Sahaengsogok” (사행소곡 A Song of Four Verses) in the inaugural issue of Poetic Literature. In 1934, the publication of “Morani pigikkajineun” (모란이 피기까지는 Until Peonies Bloom) in the inaugural issue of Munhak earned him much fame. His first collection of poetry Yeongnangsijip (영랑시집 Poetry of Kim Yeongrang), was published by Park Yongcheol’s Simunhaksa in 1935. In 1939, he resumed his creative endeavour by publishing “Dogeul chago” (독을 차고 Filled with Poison) in the literary journal Munjang.
Toward the end of the Japanese colonial era, he refused to change his name or visit Japanese shrines. After liberation, he returned to Gangjin and took part in the right-wing effort. In 1950, at the start of the Korean War, he was killed in bombing in Seoul. He was temporarily buried at the foot of Mt. Namsan until 1954 when his grave was moved to Mangu-ri. Kim’s last collection of poetry, Morani pigikkajineun (모란이 피기까지는 Until Peonies Bloom) was published posthumously in 1981.
2. Writing
Musicality and Lyricism of Early Poetry
Kim began his writing career in March 1930 with the publication of 13 poems in Poetic Literature, including “Dongbaegipe bitnaneun maeum” (동백잎에 빛나는 마음 Heart Glowing with Camellia Leaves) and “Sahaengsogok” (사행소곡 A Song of Four Verses). Almost immediately, he emerged as a powerful voice in the literary circle. Park Yongcheol lauded “Sahaengsogok” as ‘the finest poetry on earth.’ 6) Park Yongcheol’s favorable evaluation of Kim’s work helped him establish himself as a lyric poet of pure aesthetics.
Kim’s early poems drew attention for two reasons—one is the outstanding musicality of his poetry and the other is the world of pure lyricism expressed in concise and beautiful language. The excellent rhythms of his poetry were based on his personal engagement with music since a young age. For the lyrical quality of his work, the poet was at times criticized for turning a blind eye to or excluding colonial reality. His representative early poem “Dongbaegipe bitnaneun maeum” famously defined the poetic characteristics of the inaugural issue of Poetic Literature.7) The five stanzas (a variation of the original four-stanza poetry) are characterized by sophisticated language, which compares the narrator’s mind to a flowing river. In particular, the poem focuses on ‘the heart’ as a poetic object. In 54 of the 86 poems he wrote, Kim’s focus was on ‘my heart’. As such, ‘my heart’ plays an important role in Kim’s early poetry imbued with sentiments like sadness, grief, and depression. However, these sentiments are not directly expressed. Rather, they are mostly implied by images of nature. Feelings of sadness and despair in ‘my heart’ become elevated to the aesthetics of waiting 8) in his celebrated work “Morani pigikkajineun” (모란이 피기까지는 Until Peonies Bloom). The poem stars with ‘Until peonies bloom / I just go on waiting for my spring to come,’ and ends with ‘Until peonies bloom / I just go on waiting / for a spring of glorious sorrow.’ In other words, it starts and ends with the act of waiting. This wait, however, encompasses grief of loss. Through waiting, the narrator seeks to overcome the sense of loss he feels while watching the peonies bloom and fall. These ambivalent feelings of hope and sorrow are made transparently clear in the line ‘a spring of glorious sorrow.’
Social Consciousness of Late Poetry
In his early poems, Kim mostly used images or objects of nature to present a world of gloom. However, when he resumed poetry writing in 1939 with the publication of “Dogeul chago” (독을 차고 Filled with Poison) in Munjang, he created a new poetic world with a different social consciousness than before. The narrator of “Dogeul chago” fills his heart with poison and goes up against wild animals attacking him from all sides. The narrator resolves to save his lonely soul by filling his heart with poison, even though he may get ripped apart alive by the animals. Given that the poem was published towards the end of the colonial era, this ‘poison’ carries heavy significance. It is regrettable that this distinct point of resistance remains as the poet’s internal conflict rather than expanding into an active social struggle. Therefore, this is often criticized as one of the limitations of Kim’s poetry.
Despite his departure from the world of pure lyricism found in his early poetry, Kim failed to engage actively in social participation. This issue is addressed to a certain extent in his post-liberation poems which include “Buk” (북 Drum).
Reference
1) Park Nokyun, Gimyeongnang: choegoui sunsu seojeong siin, Konkuk University Press, 2003.
2) Doosan Encyclopedia:
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=1178843&cid=40942&categoryId=32861
3) Nanŭn Munhagida:
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=3581492&cid=60538&categoryId=60538
4) Encyclopaedia of Korean Culture:
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=657934&cid=46645&categoryId=46645
5) 100 Years of Korean Magazine 3
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=2211823&cid=42192&categoryId=51076
6) Park Yongcheol, Korea Joongang Daily, December 7, 1931.
7) Encyclopaedia of Korean Culture:
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=1821807&cid=46645&categoryId=46645
8) Jeong Myeong-gyo, Dasangwa hyeondae vol 10., Yonsei University, 2017.
