Pivotal Poet for ‘Review the Old and Learn the New(溫故知新)’,

Go Ha(Pen Name) Choi Seung-Bum

Yang Byeongho

(A Poet and Professor of Korean Literature of JeonBuk National University)

1. The Leader of Korean Literature Who Has Lived with Scholarly Spirits.

Go Ha Choi Seungbum was born in Namwon, Jeonbuk, on June 24th, 1931. Before he entered an elementary school, he learned 「ChooGu(捶句)」 from his grandfather, and grew up listening to classical novels from his grandmother. During elementary school, he learned 「SoHak(小學)」.

He had spent ordinary life with his parents and grandparents until the age of 9 or 10, but then his family came to have financially hard time. Fortunately, after graduating from the elementary school, he could continue his studies at Namwon agricultural high school with his aunt’s help. During his high school days, he took part in the literary section, dreaming of a literary man, so he finally got into MyeongRyun University(former name of JBNU) in 1949. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, he served in DaeJeon, and then returned to the university where he studied very hard learning under Garam Lee Byeonggi.

Considering his life, He has lived very similar life to Garam. In other words, both have similar attitude of learning and similar academic tradition of ‘review the old and learn the new’. For example, Garam and he sincerely read senior scholars’ books, and were deeply interested in buying literature books and keeping them. Also, following Garam’s work which included the Renaissance of traditional three-verse Korean poem and modernization of the poem, the fact that he developed the new phase of modern three-verse Korean poem was also the example of the study succession.

After finishing his undergraduate studies at JBNU in 1953, there, he proceeded to graduate school, keeping learning under his teacher, Garam. Then he took an active part in newspaper production as a chief editor of JBNU newspaper, which he had worked as a reporter since an undergraduate. After that, he went on to the doctor’s course in Korean Literature at JBNU. At the same time, he was assigned to full-time instructor, so he trained younger students until he retired in 1996. He started his literary career after two of his work including 「SeolChung」 were published on June edition of 『Modern Literature』 in 1958.

He worked very hard to develop JBNU, carrying out various positions in a reasonable and harmonious way as a member of JBNU. In addition, to help the local community and the country where he had lived, he volunteered for many events, serving as an executive director of Jeonju UNESCO, Jeonbuk manager of Korean Cultural Properties Protection Association, the manager of Jeonju Local Culture Exchange Meeting, and the chairman of the World Calligraphy Jeonbuk Biennale.

Of all the works he has done, the most outstanding one was the continuous publication of 『Jeonbuk Literature』. It opened its door to not only the writers in Jeonbuk but also the others who lived outside Jeonbuk, so it enhanced the status of the local literature, not to mention its great devotion to the development of Korean literature.

2. The Spirit of ‘Review the Old and Learn the New’, Which Modernized the Tradition and the Tastes for the Arts

He finished his master’s degree with 「GyeChukIlGi(癸丑日記)」, and received his doctorate with 『Research of Korean Essay Literature』. By this, his academic position and attitude could be seemed into essay as well as traditional three-verse Korean poem. A collection of essays he published took about half of his total 55 writings.

He showed his passion of succeeding Korean traditional value and culture through traditional three-verse Korean poem, essay, and literature study, and tried to emphasize the foregoers’ mental value as the mental signpost of modern lives. In his essays, those intention and passion were directly and concretely revealed; for instance, his inquiry into the graceful and stylish lifestyle of Korean traditional lives. He suggested a meaningful signpost to the modern people who lost their identity due to the dramatically changed lifestyle. He thought that in order to have some spiritual backbones in the world where people did not exactly know who they were, they must succeed and develop our ancestors’ lifestyle in modern ways.

He tried to reveal the value of ‘review the old and learn the new’ by making ‘the very Korean thing’ subject matter for his writings.

It was when I was eight or nine years old that I was fascinated by the color of dancheong for the first time in my life. ∙∙∙∙∙∙∙ Rather than this, the color of pillars and rafters were glorious and beautiful which was varicolored. ChunHyang pavilion was small, but it was also very colorful, and inside the beautiful picture of standing ChunHyang was hung.

At the darkling night, once I stopped by CheonEun temple in GuRye, JeonNam. ∙∙∙∙∙∙∙ I was alone, wandering and watching this glorious dancheong, but then I had fear all of sudden.

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

I got to think that we can see the beautiful and grave color only if all the secular thoughts are emptied.

in 「Dancheong-HwaUmGyeong that Can be Seen with Empty Mind」

In this essay, he wrote that his sense and feelings for ‘Dancheong’ were conflicted in his childhood and in his adulthood. About this, the narrator realized that it had something to do with the recognizing agent, not the objects or things. He focused on the importance of freedom from avarice by recognizing agents.

He often wrote about material closely related to routine life because of his curiosity and inquiry into the tradition and custom. In his essay, he revealed the traditional meaning and value about Korean sound, color, style, and flavor. Among all these, he deeply introspected about our traditional food culture, especially daily food, not luxurious one. He described the food, quoting our forefathers’ writings so as to relate the experiential essays, the unique atmosphere of sharing it, and the literary beauty to the food. Therefore, his essays introspecting about our food culture improved its elegance with graceful and refined words.

The essay 「Ixeris Dentata」 also had the typical features of Go Ha’s writing style. His essays started with his own experience, then read some classics broadly, and finally related it to the grace of our tradition.

Munpoongji, paper weather strips, on the doors are naturally gone, disappear. Probably the word of ‘Munpoongji’ would be left only in the dictionary later on. The dictionary will have to explain something like ’the paper that people put on all the sides of the door in order to stop the wind’.

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

Back in the day, the sound from Munpoonji told the joys and sorrows of Korean people. It was actually just the sound from Munpoonji which was made because of the wind, but it used to be the sound from our people’s minds. When the listener was happy, it was happy sound; when sad, sad sound; when angry, angry sound; when lovely, lovely sound; when afraid, afraid sound; when worried, worried sound; Munpoongji sang together, and cried together. The wind that sounds Munpoongji wasn’t ‘normal wind’, and the sound was making its voice with ‘many stories’.

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

Now, the sound from Munpoonji is only natural poetry that I miss, along with my childhood.

in 「The Sound from Munpoonji」, 『Like Wind, Like Clouds』

This essay wrote about the meaning and value concerning the sound of Korea. He captured the hard time that his family and his friends had to pass in the winter, with warm eyes. Through this, we could know his outlook on the world and his set of values. Obviously, he innately had a positive set of values.

Quoting poems, he enhanced the lyric of the winter and clears the scenery of winter in the past. Then he felt sorry for the reality that the sound from Munpoonji did not exist anymore. From our traditional ‘sound’, he called for the tastes for the arts and the composure of life, which the people of that time had.

Until now, we have lived lives that caused conflicts between the traditional values and the western values. The problem is that these conflicts should be accepted in harmony, and only if it happens, our traditional values could converge into the new tradition and values. He asserted this opinion gently and softly, but with conviction and belief, in his writings. In his essays, he talked about his thoughts in calm and quiet voices. The clearest spiritual value that was revealed in his essays was humanism.

3. The Poverty Soul of Honest Poetry and Right Road that Aimed at Romantic Humanism

His poem showed a similar or same feature as his essays. In his poems that never dealt with grand things and never got agitated, the subjects and the world in the poems functioned as a mirror that always reflected lives and the essence of lives, and became an object that sang composure and self-sufficiency of lives, so the poems eventually took a role of clarifying and refining our lives.

He shows his soul of poetry and his view of life which were represented as conformism. Like nature friendly things, he positively said that we people should live peaceful lives, depending on each other and giving help to each other, and the desire reached not only to the recognition of space and relationship but also to the recognition of time.

He was extremely sensitive to lyrics and liked to embody lyrical mood, which was the main stream of Korean modern poems. Until now, the manner that modern poems were written had been too experimental and emphasized the attitude of self-efficacy so much that it itself became the mechanism that obstructed the communication between writers and readers. However, the poet pursued classical lyrical beauty, only keeping traditional and stable writing attitude.

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

ChunSeol tea

testing my chin on my hands in front of a teacup

the faces

that I miss

the people like flower petals

the people very warm

the people amiable

the people well-arranged

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

「Setting aside a ChunSeol Teacup」

This poem embodied the pure feeling of missing people. The poet reminded of people who he had met in the past. The faces that came up with in his memory were “The people like flower petals, the people very warm, the people amiable, the people well-arranged.” The characteristic of this imagery created pure and quiet atmosphere that matched the pure feeling of missing people. In the end, this poem offered the chances to face who we really were by observing our own lives. 

Poet Go Ha incessantly meditated upon his ego and what was right attitude toward life. As a signpost to train our spirits and minds, he emphasized on Confucianism, which was the minds of classical scholars. In fact, his real life and attitude actually realized the very minds of classical scholars. As a result, his ordinary attitude was often embodied in his poems.

Although blue color of dried bamboo

is gone,

its temper made

its grain.

Envious life

that lives right

for its entire life

「Old Bamboo」

Bamboo was the symbol of classical scholars’ principles and loyalty. In this poem, the poet described the nature of bamboo in detail, and then recognized the nature by substituting it to spirits or a set of values. In the poem, the poet’s disappointment was revealed which was caused by the distance between his desires to live straight, righteous life and the reality where he could not. The ‘envy’ that the poet confessed made the poem sound much more honest.

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

-try to deceive by a transparent guile

Never do.

The eyes

that can’t even be exchanged with stars.

What if

it is caught.

「Deceiving with Fallen Leaves-SangMal 7」

This poem also embodied the attitude we should keep in our lives. That was, we had to keep honesty in our lives. In this poem, the poet revealed his critical view toward negative lifestyle. Of course, what this critical view pointed to was the righteous lives. In other words, Go Ha focused on his will to live the life with backbone.

He was a humanist who cherished relationship between people. He especially publicized a plenty of travel poetry. From this, it could be inferred that he considered philanthropy through communication between people as a joy in one’s life. He himself showed the faith and the friendship between people through the consideration and the respect for the others.

Even though our hands are down

Embrace the low part and

tactility of a head

is toward all the way up the sky.

Vivacity

that neighbors around

Share together

「Human Family」

In this poem, the poet said that even though our lives in reality was poor and pitiful, the ideal attitude toward lives should be the composure like nature’s one. This poem showed the spatial recognition which was expanded up down left right side, and this symmetrical balance made its structure stronger.

To summarize his interest, material in poem, the view on the world, and a set of values, he focused on naturalism, romanticism, humanism, traditionalism, and Confucianism. That was to say, in his poems, He embodied his mind that he wants to live with mild principles. Thus, the idea of his poem was ‘review the old and learn the new’.

And those poems may show somewhat didactic, ideal, and abstract characters. On the contrary, his poems thoroughly aimed at Dinggedicht and concrete poem. Owing to his aims, his poems had clear and concrete poetic concepts through sensitive and warm eyes toward the world and things. Other than these virtues, his poems achieved the perfection of linguistic aesthetics.

Early spring, by the brook

tremble tremble trembling

oh how long has it been

a sallow catkin

-ohyoyo

The sunlight

that is old hand gesture and

that spreads silver powder

「A Fairy Tale」

Early spring, by the brook tremble tremble trembling

oh how long has it been a sallow catkin

-ohyoyo the sunlight that is old hand gesture and that spreads silver powder

He was pretty sensitive to the choices of poetic words and refining. Poem was definitely an art of language, as many had heard. The words that Go Ha used many times were pure Korean, the words that revealed ordinary people’s feelings, native tongues, and dialects that gave a unique sense.

And, what’s more, the linguistic aesthetics that his poems had came from rhythm, that ws to say musicality. He was a Korean verse poet. However, in terms of the form of the Korean verse poem, he tried to get away and stay in its rhythm at the same time. 「A Fairy Tale」 ② showed the division of lines which was the regular type of the Korean verse poem. In contrast, the poem ① showed the division of lines which made his own sensitive and delicate rhythm, achieving the smooth musicality.

The aesthetics of his poem came from his poetic interest, the traditionalism on the poetic material, humanism, pure romanticism, and naturalism. Most importantly, the aesthetical perfection of his poem was up to the consideration on the poetic words and to the achievement of the flowing rhythm through unique division of lines.

He was the representative man of letters, who boosted Korean tradition and culture though literature, following Garam Lee Byeonggi. He developed Korean traditional spirits and values in modern ways by writing about 55 books. The traditional spirits and values that he presented were taste for the arts and the need for backbone in our lives. In the world that traditional values were unstable due to the influx of western values and the development of science, he set a signpost with taste for the arts and the need for backbone in our lives. His achievements will be a guiding star for Koreans, expanded beyond Jeonbuk and continued as a mental signpost for Koreans.

Profile of

The year of 1931 Born in Namwon, Jeollabukdo

The year of 1954 Graduated the department of Korean Literature at JBNU

Received the 1st award of university president

The year of 1956 Received a master’s degree with 「The Research of GyeChukIlGi」 at JBNU

The year of 1958 Started his writing career by posting 「SeolGyeong」「Shower」 「DeungGo」 on 『Modern Literature』

The year of 1967 As an executive director of Jeonju UNESCO, took part in the edit of 『DoJeong』, the organ of UNESCO. Published till its 18thedition.

The year of 1969 Worked as a Jeonbuk manager of Korean writers’ association

Supervised literary coterie magazine 『Jeonbuk Literature』, and published the 272th edition at the moment(2015.12)

The year of 1980 Received a doctor’s degree with 『The Research of Korean Essay Literature』 at JBNU

Started working as a head professor of the department of Korean Literature at the graduate school of JBNU

The year of 1995 Awarding the award of Korean Literature

The year of 2005 Participated in the World Peace Poet Convention(8.11~15, at Shila hotel∙ManHae village∙Geumgangsan hotel)

Works of

『SeolChung』, BaeSung publishing company, 1970

『A Collection of Korean Traditional Essays』, SamJungDang, 1981

『A Collection of Korean Traditional Three-verse Poems』, SamJungDang, 1982

『I am Looking for Korean Sound』, YeaEum, Feb. 1992

『Mirror』, Literature Academy, Apr. 1993

『Korean Food and Institutions and Customs』, Literature Academy, June. 1997

『Teacher, Garam Lee Byeonggi』, BeomWooSa, June. 2001

『Setting aside a Chunseol Teacup-a 100 people Collection of Modern Three-verse Poems 19 in Our Time』, TaeHakSa, Jan. 2004

『Deceiving with Fallen Leaves』, JeongPyo, Dec. 2004

『To Bamboo』, Thoughts of Poets, Apr. 2013