Moon Taejun (born 1970) is a South Korean poet and program director.
1. Life
Moon Taejun was born in 1970 in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province. His family were farmers who raised various crops and cattle, as well as keeping silkworms for extra cash. The family's fortunes improved when they began cultivating plums and grapes, crops for which Gimcheon is known. Moon's rural upbringing, dating back to his earliest memories, suffuses and is inseparable from his poetry.
An excellent student, Moon went on to attend Korea University, studying Korean literature. He earned his master's degree in creative writing and Ph.D in Korean literature from Dongguk University.
Moon made his literary debut in 1994, when nine of his poems including "Cheoseo" (처서 End of Summer) won the Munye Joongang New Writer's Contest. He is the recipient of the Dongsuh Literary Award, the Nojak Literary Prize, the Midang Literary Award, the Sowol Poetry Award, and the Mok-wol Literature Prize, among others. His poetry collection Geuneurui baldal (그늘의 발달 The Growth of a Shadow) has been published in English, and his poems "Eomeonineun chan yeomjureul dollimyeo" (어머니는 찬 염주를 돌리며 My Mother’s Prayer Beads) and "Meongot" (먼 곳 A Faraway Place) have appeared in the Guardian.
In addition to his writing, Moon is a program director at the Buddhist Broadcasting System (BBS). He is good friends with the novelists Kim Yeonsu and Kim Junghyuk, who are from the same hometown and with whom he attended school together.
2. Writing
Moon Taejun has published several poetry collections since his prize-winning debut in 1994, including Sureongeorineun dwiran (수런거리는 뒤란 Crowded Backyard), Maenbal (맨발 Barefoot), Gajaemi (가재미 Flatfish), The Growth of a Shadow, and Meongot (먼곳 A Faraway Place). As a leading poet who carries on the tradition of Korean traditional lyric poetry, his works have gained the attention of many literary artists and critics.
Moon's poems employ a comforting language to soothe the wounds of the soul. His poems seek to assuage the pains of those suffering from the violence and oppression of a heartless society. He values "conversation" highly, emphasizing full empathy between two existences, such as when he says, "That over there, is in me here; and I here, am in that over there. Let me respect that which is not me, and therefore those things that are me." The poet aspires to a state in which the subject and object are not distinct from one another, but fused together. In this respect, Moon Taejun carries on the traditional lyrical tradition.
Newly emerging poets too often look askance at the old lyricism, seeking instead new language suited to the tastes of the present age; but the result is often an idiosyncratic poetry that is difficult for the reader to understand. Moon’s poetry tacitly challenges this trend, and embodies hope for easy communication with the world through language steeped in lyricism. His poetry employs familiar subjects from the natural world such as flowers, trees, falling leaves and paths, and people from everyday life such as wife, child, and sufferer. But in the familiarity emerges the unique individuality of the poet, bringing to our awareness the fact that the familiar is not “old.”
