Lee Hyeonggi (1933 – 2005) was a modern South Korean poet.
1. Life
Lee Hyeonggi was born on January 6, 1933 in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province. He made his literary debut publishing the poems "Bioneun nal" (비오는 날 Rainy Day), "Koseumoseu" (코스모스 Cosmos), and "Ganggaeseo" (강가에서 By the River), in the literary journal Munye from 1949-1950, at the age of 16. He never stopped writing until the end of his life, enjoying a career of some 55 years that spanned not only poetry but criticism, fiction, and essays.
Lee attended Dongguk University, from which he earned a B.A. in Buddhism in 1956. He worked as a reporter for Yonhap News Agency, the Seoul Shinmun, and the Daehan Ilbo, and as editor-in-chief and editorial writer for the Kukje Shinmun. Lee was also a professor of Korean at Dongguk University.
Lee died on February 2, 2005.
2. Writing
The poetic career of Lee Hyeonggi can be divided into three distinct periods. The first period, best represented by his poetry anthology Jeogmaggangsan (적막강산 Isolated Nature), reflects the maturing thoughts of a man who has come to realize the fundamental solitude of life and the emptiness of the world. The poems dating from this period are heavily infused with the sentiment of the futility of life. His poems, however, are not simple expressions of bitterness or anger, but are characterized instead, by a bold confrontation with this futility. The poet also removes himself of worldly considerations and involvement, thus purifying himself from the transient waves of existence and unveiling aspects of transcendence in harmony with nature.
The second period of the poet’s career includes works dating from the 1970s and after, which unburdens itself from the transparent and restrained emotion of his previous poetry to better express the poet’s intense aestheticism. The central characteristics of this period are the desperate resistance shown by even strong men in the face of death, and the essential futility of mankind magnified by such resistance, and the dramatic expression of human life through the negative influence of superficial vitality.
After the mid-1980s, his poetry displays a freedom of spirit that can withdraw and objectively examine the futility of life. He coolly examines the changes within reality and the horror of the world, with a calm composure that boldly accepts these observations.
