Lee Eunsang (1903 - 1982) was a Korean poet and historian.
1. Life
Lee Eunsang was born in Masan, South Gyeongsang Province. He studied history at Waseda University in Japan and later completed a Ph.D in Korean literature at Kyung Hee University. Lee made his literary debut in 1921, publishing "Hyeoljo" (혈조 Blood Tide) under the pen name of Duuseong in the fourth issue of Aseong. Hereafter, Lee was most active in the literary magazine Joseon Mundan, which was founded in 1924.
Lee worked at Ewha Womans University as a professor from 1931 to 1932, after which he worked for the Dong-a Ilbo and the Chosun Ilbo. In 1942, he was arrested on the suspicion of being implicated in the so-called "incident of Chosun Language Academy" (조선어학회사건), and was released the next year when his indictment suspended. In 1945, he was detained in custody as a political offender at the Gwang-yang police station and was released at the time of Korea's independence from Japan.
After the liberation, Lee taught at Cheong-gu University, Seoul National University, and Young-nam University. In 1954, he was invited to join the Korean Academy of the Arts. Besides his achievements as a poet and crusader for the modernization of sijo, Lee is known for his research on Admiral Yi Sun-sin, including a modern Korean translation of his Nanjung Ilgi (난중일기 War Diary). Lee was awarded the Rose of Sharon National Medal of Honor in 1970.
2. Writing
Lee Eunsang was dedicated to the revival and modernization of sijo, a form of Korean poetry. A poet notable for his evolving style, Lee’s career consists of several distinct stages. In the beginning, his poetic works were almost entirely in free verse, and he published critical essays on Western poets such as Whitman and Tennyson. It was only later on that Lee developed a passionate interest in sijo, a form first invented in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, consisting of a set rhythm pattern usually involving the systematic arrangement of lines in three and four syllables each. For five centuries following its invention, sijo remained Korea’s most popular form of verse, but it had fallen out of favor by the early twentieth century.
In the mid-1920s, the poet Lee Byeonggi began his well-known efforts to preserve and revive sijo, and Lee Eunsang matched him in his fervor. The actual sijo poems of Lee Byeonggi and Lee Eunsang, however, differ distinctly in both style and tone. While Lee Byeonggi’s technical innovations largely involved lengthening sijo verses, Lee Eunsang concentrated on condensing the three line poems even further into two lines, resulting in original works that were short but extremely dynamic and powerful. Lee Eunsang went on to create a new form he called ‘Yangjangsijo,’ consisting of less disruptive line breaks and a smoother rhythm. Several of his ‘Yangjangsijo’ poems, such as “Gagopa,” (가고파 Take Me Yonder), “Seongbulsaui bam,” (성불사의 밤 Night of Seongbulsa) and “Yetdongsane olla,” (옛동산에 올라 On the Old Hill) were set to music and have since become classic standards.
The Korean War marked a distinct shift in Lee Eunsang's work. The central themes of his earlier works vary a great deal: for example, poems such as “Ganeun gonmada” (가는 곳마다 Everywhere I Go) and “Songdo norae” (송도 노래 Song of Songdo) from his first collection, Nosan sijojip (노산시조집Collected sijo of Nosan), are concerned with love of history in general, while “Heureneun bombit” (흐르는 봄빛 Colors of Spring) and “Sseulsseulhan geunal” (쓸쓸한 그늘 Melancholy Shadows) address nature and personal experiences. In sharp contrast, the poems from this new, post-war period reflect Lee’s newfound sense of social and political awareness, treating subjects such as the pain of national division, the memories of patriots, and the glorification of the Korean nation.
