Mun Dok-su (1928 – 2020) was a South Korean poet and professor.
1. Life
Mun Dok-su was born December 8, 1928 in Haman, South Gyeongsang Province. Mun graduated from Hongik University, attended Tsukuba University, and graduate school at Korea University, resulting in a Ph.D. in Literature.
Mun's pen names are Simsan and Cheongtae. Recommended by Yu Chi-hwan, he made his literary debut in 1955 publishing the poems "Chimmuk" (침묵 Silence), "Hwaseok" (화석 Fossil ) and "Baram sogeseo" (바람 속에서 In the Wind) in Hyundae Munhak.
Mun worked for the magazine Shidan and served in many organizations including as President of the Poetry Section of the Korean Literature Association; President of the Modern Poet's Association; Vice Director of the Korean Literature Association; Director, Vice President, and President of the Korean branch of P.E.N.; Representative of the Korean Committee for the International Poets' Union, and as President of the Korean Culture and Arts Foundation. Mun also taught at Jeju and Hongik University, and served as a Dean of the College of Education at the latter.
2. Writing
Mun’s poetry can be divided into three categories according to the time of their composition. In his early collections, Hwanghol (황홀 Entrancement) and Seon, gonggan (선·공간 Line and Dimension), he depicts the workings and the nature of the human mind and creativity in an unrestrained style of free association, and occasionally automatic writing.
The second category consists of the poems in the collections Saebyeok bada (새벽바다 The Sea at Dawn), Yeongwonhan kkotbat (영원한 꽃밭 Everlasting Flower Field), and Saranameun urideulmani dasi Yuworeul maja (살아남은 우리들만이 다시 6월을 맞아 Only We Who Survived Greet June). Here, he severely criticizes the aspects of contemporary civilization which allowed for the proliferation of immorality, conformism, standardization, simplification, and absurdities that in turn have brought about general dehumanization.
The final, third category includes his last publications, the collections Dari noki (다리 놓기 Making Bridges), Jogeumssik jurimyeonseo (조금씩 줄이면서 Reducing Little by Little), Geudae malsseumui angae (그대 말씀의 안개 The Mist of Your Words) and Mannameul wihan allegeuro (만남을 위한 알레그로 Allegro for an Encounter). He combines conservative themes and concerns with literary experiments to produce an original, effective critique of civilization, nature, and ossified poetic forms. Mun openly rejects black-and-white logic, especially when confronting literature; his work is characterized by restlessness and a thirst for innovation. Mun has been highly praised for crafting sophisticated forms to capture the nature of psychological sentiments and for having employed language as a material with which to build entities rather than empty, merely reflective symbols. He has published, in addition to volumes of poetry, theoretical works such as Hyeondae munhagui ihae (현대문학의 이해 Understanding Contemporary Literature), Hyeondae hanguk siron (현대한국시론 Theory of Contemporary Korean Poetry), Hanguk modeonijeumsi yeongu (한국모더니즘 시연구 A Study of Modernist Poetry in Korea), and Hyeonsilgwa hyumeonijeum munhak (현실과 휴머니즘 문학 Reality and Humanist Literature).
