Park Joon (1983-) is a South Korean poet. He graduated from Kyung Hee Graduate School of Korean Language and Literature. He made his debut publishing “Moraenae Geurimjageuk” (모래내 그림자극 A Shadow Play at Moraenae) in the quarterly magazine Literature and Practice in 2008. His first poetry collection Dangsinui Ireumeul Jieodaga Myeochireun Meogeotda (당신의 이름을 지어다가 며칠은 먹었다 I Took Medicine Called You for a Few Days) was published in 2012.
1. Life
Park Joon (1983-) was born in Seoul in 1983. He was first exposed to poetry collections of 80s poets – Yang Sungwoo, Mun Byungran, Kim Ji-ha, etc. – in the higher grades of elementary school. Park Joon hasn’t explicitly mentioned his childhood, although there is a glimpse of it in his essay collection Undago Dallajineun Ireun Amugeotdo Eopgetjiman (운다고 달라지는 일은 아무것도 없겠지만 Crying Wouldn’t Change Anything, 2017). He applied for annual spring literary contests several times from 2003 but failed to advance to the final round. The poet said that he had determined to write poems about “sadness of others,” looking at a candlelight rally against imports of U.S. beef in 2008. Since then, he has wandered hospitals specializing in traffic accidents, coal-mining villages, and Gosiwons (a Korea-specific type of accommodation for examiners, the housing conditions of which is almost always very poor) in different regions to write poems. He collected such poems including “Moraenae Geurimjageuk” and made his debut publishing them in the Literature and Practice. He graduated from Kyung Hee Graduate School of Korean Language and Literature. His first poetry collection Dangsinui Ireumeul Jieodaga Myeochireun Meogeotda was published in 2012 and received favorable reviews. In 2015, he made a reputation when introduced in “Bimildokseodan” (비밀독서단 A Secret Society of Readers), a TV show on reading. At the time, his book was the top rank best-seller in some bookstores – a rare achievement as a poetry collection – although three years had passed since its publication. His essay collection Undago Dallajineun Ireun Amugeotdo Eopgetjiman (2017) received the Young Artist Award (Literature) by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. His second poetry collection Uriga Hamkke Jangmareul Bol Sudo Itgetseumnida (우리가 함께 장마를 볼 수도 있겠습니다 We Could See the Rainy Season Together) was published in 2018.
Reference
