Park Jaesam(1933-1997) was a Korean poet.
1. Life
Park Jaesam was born on April 10, 1933, in Tokyo, Japan. His family moved back to Korea when he was three or four years old, and Pak grew up in Samcheonpo, South Gyeongsang Province. He studied Korean literature at Korea University.
In November 1953, his poem "Gangmureseo" (강물에서 By a River) was published in Munye magazine upon the recommendation of the poet Moh Youn Sook. In 1955 he published the poems "Seomni" (섭리 Providence) and "Jeongsuk" (정숙 Silence) in Hyundae Munhak upon the reccomendation of Yu Chi-hwan and So Chong-ju, respectively, completing his literary debut. His first collection of poems, Chunhyangi maeum (춘향이 마음 Chunhyang's Heart), was published in 1962, followed by many others.
Pak worked as a reporter for the Daehan-Ilbo and an editor for Hyundai Munhak Publishing. In the 1960s he was a member of the literary coterie Sahwajip (along with Park Hi-jin, Sung Chankyung, Pak Seongryong, Lee Seonggyo, Lee Changdae and Kang Wiseok). Pak also served on the first editorial committee of the bimonthly The Han-Kyoreh Literature, launched in 1993, and the secretary general of the Korean Poets' Association. Pak died on June 8, 1997.
2. Writing
Pak Chaesam’s poetry, in contrast to the sharp realist and modernist trends of the 1950s, expressed the eternal and delicate beauty of nature and the hidden dignity of humble human daily life through the medium of traditional Korean lyrics. However, his poetry was no mere re-creation of the old school of natural sentimentalism; though he utilized the classical techniques of sentiment and native sensibility, he was able to overcome the inconsistency of man with the eternity and beauty of nature by incorporating, rather than disparaging or rejecting, the pathos and nihilism of ordinary people as a fundamental part of the natural course of humanity. The pain of life, Pak’s poetry asserts, is not incompatible with its beauty or worth.
His Chunhyangi maeum (춘향이 마음 Chunhyang's Heart) and Ureumi taneun gaeul gang (울음이 타는 가을 강 Autumn River Glowing with Lamentation) best represent Pak’s body of work and his celebrated versification, which had finely nuanced yet uniquely colloquial tone that was particularly apt for his celebration of daily life. His lyrical compositions, even his early years of writing, is considered to be an expansion of traditional Korean poetry, an expansion that maintained its close affinity to the native understanding while reaching new planes of insight into the human psyche and man’s relationship with the natural world.
