“Better to fall like a flower, fall. Into the river that reflects you so perfectly, into its dark, black waters.” (“Ijeneun nakhwahara” (이제는 낙화하라 Now, Fall Like a Flower in Bloom), Najeun supyeongseon (낮은 수평선 A Low Horizon), Moonji, 2004)
Kim Hyung-Young was a poet who created a distinctive poetic world as a Christian truth-seeker, striving to find the reason for the disconnect between the world and the self through animal imagery that reveals the animalistic qualities of human beings.
1. Life
Kim Hyung-Young was born in 1946 in Buan, North Jeolla Province. After graduating from university with a degree in creative writing, he joined the publishing house Samtoh. He made his literary debut in 1966 when his poem “Sogok” (소곡 A Short Song) was published in Munhak Choon Choo (Literary Spring and Autumn). He was also a member of the literary group 70 Nyeondae (‘70s). He died in 2021 after suffering from a chronic illness.
2. Writing
Kim Hyung-Young’s poetry underwent distinct changes over the course of his life. In his early poetry, he sought to understand the reason for the disconnect between the world and the self. Indirect and satirical expressions are particularly notable in these works, which also reveal a strong sense of folk sensibility. Critics have described his early poetry as having a unique effect by combining the primitive, brutish quality of Seo Jeong-ju’s poetry with the restraint of Pak Mogwol’s early work, revealing the conflicting attraction to and repulsion from the physical body and animalistic nature, as well as the joy and futility brought on by the pursuit of pleasure.
Kim became a devout Catholic after years of struggling with illness. As he lived on the boundary between life and death in an intensely charged state of existence, he entered a period centered on the search for self-redemption. During that time, he wrote poems that express the quiet and relaxed essence of nature with concise and dense poetic language without relying on elaborate techniques, while simultaneously making desperate attempts to purify his inner self and draw closer to the Absolute. His poetry from this period reflects his own spiritual search, as well as his aspiration toward a clear and bright life through repentance.
Reference
Poetry collections and anthologies
《침묵의 무늬》, 샘터사, 1973 / Chimmugui munui (The Pattern of Silence), Samtoh, 1973
《모기들은 혼자서도 소리를 친다》, 문학과지성사, 1979 / Mogiideureun honjaseodo sorireul chinda (Even Alone, Mosquitoes Make Their Sound), Moonji, 1979
《다른 하늘이 열릴 때》, 문학과지성사, 1987 / Dareun haneuri yeollil ttae (When Another Sky Opens), Moonji, 1987
《기다림 끝나는 날에도》, 문학과지성사, 1992 / Gidarim kkeunnaneun naredo (Even on the Day When Waiting Ends), Moonji, 1992
《새벽달처럼》, 문학과지성사, 1997 / Saebyeokdalcheoreom (Like the Early Morning Moon), Moonji, 1997
《홀로 울게 하소서》, 열림원, 2000 / Hollo ulge hasoseo (O Let Me Weep Alone), Yolimwon, 2000
《낮은 수평선》, 문학과지성사, 2004 / Najeun supyeongseon (A Low Horizon), Moonji, 2004
《내가 당신을 얼마나 꿈꾸었으면》, 문학과지성사, 2005 / Naega dangsineul eolmana kkumkkueosseumyeon (How Much I Must Have Dreamed of You), Moonji, 2005
《나무 안에서》, 문학과지성사, 2009 / In the Tree: Selected Poems of Kim Hyung-Young, Foreign Language Publications, The Ohio State University, 2011
《땅을 여는 꽃들》, 문학과지성사, 2014 / Ttangeul yeoneun kkotdeul (Flowers That Open the Earth), Moonji, 2014
《무엇을 보려고》, 지식을만드는지식, 2014 / Mueoseul boryeogo (What Are You Trying to See), ZmanZ, 2014
《화살시편》, 문학과지성사, 2019 / Hwasal sipyeon (Arrow Psalms), Moonji, 2019
《겨울이 지나간 자리에 햇살이》, 문학과지성사, 2021 / Gyeouri jinagan jarie haetsari (Sunlight Where Winter Has Passed), Moonji, 2021
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