Seo Jeong-ju

Seo Jeong-ju was born in Gochang County, Zenrahoku Province, Korea, Empire of Japan. He received his primary education in Seodang village until 1924. The traditional stories told him by his grandmother, his primary education and his youthful experiences influenced his literary style. He went to Jung-Ang Buddhist College, but he dropped out of school in 1936 after being involved in a demonstration. In 1936, his poem, Byuk (Wall), was published in The Dong-a Ilbo newspaper. He became a pro-Japanese activist, and wrote various poems in praise of Japanese Imperialism in the late colonial period. After the independence of Korea, he worked as a professor of literature at Dongguk University and others from 1959 to 1979. Since his wife's death in October 2000, he barely ate or drank anything besides beer and died on December 24, 2000.

Seo Jeong-ju's early works were modernistic and also surrealistic, influenced mostly by foreign literature. His first collection of poems, Wha-Sa Jip (Flower snake), was published in 1941. The book explores humanity's feelings of guilt and folklore. His poem Jahwasang (Portrait) describes a young poet who struggles with the legacy of his ancestry. He wrote Japanophilic literature for the newspaper Mail Ilbo from 1942 to 1944 under the Japanese penname, Datsushiro Shizuo (達城靜雄). The publication of Village of Poets (Siin burak), a literary coterie journal that Seo founded along with Kim Tong-ni and Ham Hyeongsu, marks the beginning of his literary career. After the Liberation, Seo was actively involved in the formation of the Association of Joseon Literary Youth (Joseon cheongnyeon munhakga hyeophoe) and in 1949 he became one of the key founding members of the Association of Korean Writers (Hanguk munin hyeophoe). He was nominated as a lifetime member of the Arts Center (Yesulwon) in 1954. He also gave frequent lectures in poetry at Dongguk University. Seo's influence on Korean poetry stems in part from the poems in The Early Lyrics 1941–1960. Baudelaire's influence is unmistakable in his early poetry. Primeval and even demonic in tone, Seo's first volume of poetry Hwasajip explores men's awareness of original sin and the primeval life force against the backdrop of local or indigenous colors. After the liberation, however, the concept of original sin and predestination that marked his early poetry was replaced by the quest for never-ending life found in eastern philosophy. Gwichokdo, for example, suggests the poet's return to Buddhist ways of thought and classical style. Seo Jeongju Poems (1956), contains work that sings of a certain reconciliation between nature and han, a deep-seated sense of grief, as well as the poems "Crane" (Hak) and "A Prayer" (Gido) that show the poet's artistic maturity and his capacity for self-perception. With Sillacho, Seo reached a new artistic height. The ancient country of Silla has long been the wellspring of the poet's artistic inspiration and transcendental vision, a country more akin to an imaginary homeland where nature and men exist in perfect unity, than a historical entity. Rooted in Buddhist thought, it revives the concept of karma and the philosophy of Zen Buddhism. Dongcheon, a collection of poems published in 1969, also reveals Seo's interest in Buddhist symbolism.

"Unforgettable Things" (안 잊혀지는 일들) Early Lyrics 1941–1960, The Poems by SO Chong-Ju (Midang) (bilingual) Translated and Introduced by Brother Anthony of Taizé, 1998 *Poems of a Wanderer by Midang So Chong-Ju, Chongju So, Kevin O'Rourke (Translator), Chong-Ju So, 1995 The Early Lyrics of So Chong Ju by Midang, Anthony of Taize (Translator), 1993

Complete Literary Works of Seo Jeongju (Seo Jeongju munhakjeonjip) in five volumes was published by Iljisa in 1972 Complete Poems of Midang (Midang si jeonjip) was published by Mineumsa in 1994