Jeong Hui Seong (Hangul 정희성; born 1945) is a South Korean poet and teacher. Born in Changwon, South Korea, he graduated Yongsan High School and studied Korean language and literature at Seoul National University. Since 1970, he has taught Korean literature to high school students. As a poet, he has not been highly prolific since his debut five decades ago, having only six poetry collections to his name. He is one of the most prominent poets to be associated with the Participation literary movement (also known as the Resistance movement) of the 1970s and 80s in South Korea. In 2006, he served as the 16th Chairman of the Writers Association of Korea.
1. Life
Jeong Hui Seong was born in the city of Changwon in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. He attended Yongsan High School and studied Korean language and literature at Seoul National University. Following his graduation in 1968, he was drafted into the South Korean army. While he was serving in the army, his poem "Byeonsin" (변신 Transformation) won the Dong-a Ilbo New Writer's Contest in 1970, launching his literary career. When he completed his service that same year, he began working as a high school Korean Literature teacher while completing a master's program at Seoul National University. He belonged to a coterie of South Korean poets including Lee Kyu-ho and Kang Unkyo who collaborated in self-publishing a literary magazine called The Seventies. His early poems mainly drew inspiration from classical Korean texts, yet put a fresh spin on the mythical worlds they depicted. From the mid-1970s, he began to write works that condemned social problems, and today he is seen as one of South Korea's leading Resistance poets. He is not considered a prolific poet, with only six poetry collections spanning his five-decade career. In 2006, he was elected the 16th Chairman of the Writers Association of Korea.
2. Writing
Many of Jeong's early works play with the myths, legends, and hyangga poetry included in Samguk Yusa, or Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms. His first poetry collection Dapcheong (답청 Treading on Grass in Spring) also uses similar motifs. Published in 1974, the collection provides new interpretations of old mythical worlds in careful and controlled verse. From the mid-1970s, he wrote a series of socially conscious poems to take a stand against the realities of the oppressive society and show his support for underprivileged groups and minorities. In particular, his 1978 collection Jeomun gange sabeul sitgo (저문 강에 삽을 씻고 Rinsing the Shovel in the Twilight River) consists of works that portray everyday scenes in great detail. These poems overcome the limits of Participation poetry, break free of fixed verse forms, and convey powerful emotions. Jeomun established Jeong's reputation as a leading Participation (or Resistance) poet of the 1970s who carried on the legacy of Kim Soo-young and Sin Dong-yup (pioneers of Participation poetry in the 1960s), and who captured in his poems the energy and wholesomeness inherent in the everyday lives of ordinary people.
In 1991, 13 years after the publication of Jeomun, Jeong's third collection was published, entitled Han geuriumi dareun geuriumege (한 그리움이 다른 그리움에게 One Longing to Another). Then his fourth collection Sireul chajaseo (詩를 찾아서 In Search of Poetry) was released in 2001. These two works convey a sense of humanity and offer insights in a calm tone. Recently, he has stated that he regrets writing poetry in the past with "the language of hatred and a heart full of rage" and that he will try to look kindly on the world with "the heart of a child." Accordingly, his latest works demonstrate a heightened awareness of language and a love for nature and people.
