Kwak Jae-gu (born 1954) is a South Korean modern poet.
1. Life
Kwak Jae-gu was born in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province. He studied Korean literature at Chonnam National University and at Soongsil University graduate school. Kwak made his literary debut in 1981 winning the JoongAng Ilbo New Writer's Contest with the poem "Sapyeongyeogeseo"(사평역에서 At Sapyeong Station). He was active in the literary coterie Owolsi. Known for his work that sublimates the pain of the oppressed into lyrical poems of love and longing, Kwak's debut collection of poems, Sapyeongyeogeseo, first published in 1983, remains a classic to this day, going through over thirty printings. Over his career, he has published nine poetry collections, most recently Kkocheuro yeokkeun bangpae (꽃으로 엮은 방패 Shield Made of Flowers), four essay collections, and numerous children's stories. He is the recipient of the Shin Dong-yeop Literary Award and the Dongseo Literary award. He taught creative writing at Sunchon National University until his retirement in 2021.
2. Writing
Kwak Jae-gu’s poetic legacy derives primarily from the distinctly Korean aesthetic of his depictions of love and loneliness. The development evident from Kwak's first collection of poems, Sapyeongyeogeseo, to his third collection, Hangugui yeonindeul (한국의 연인들 Korean Lovers), demonstrates a transition from an abstract passion for historical and social issues to a relationship with social reality seen through the prism of unabstracted love. This poetic evolution can also be seen as an ever-deepening search for a true sense of self.
Beginning with his fourth collection of poems, Seoul senoya (서울 세노야 Seoul senoya), Kwak's poetry embarks upon a search for a concrete realization of love and spiritual rebirth. Kwak's early poetry overflows with anger at the egregious violence of society and a love for the common people who suffer from the brunt of this violence. The emotions at the fore in this poetry—sadness, loneliness, rage, despair, longing, love—demonstrate the extent of the poet's anger and frustration.
In Sapyeongyeogese, these emotions are expressed in vague, abstract terms, they become progressively crystallized and concretely conveyed with each successive collection. The poems in Seoul senoya reveal awareness of history and social conditions and a depiction of the human condition in concrete and lyrical. These poems transcend the basic emotions of anger and sorrow in light of the violence in the world and attempt to restore purity and love. In his latest work, Kkocheuro yeokkeun bangpae, the poet draws upon his career of 40 years in musings about the world, the passage of time, and longing for nature.
