By Park Chung-a
Staff Reporter



Kim Chun-su, one of Korea’s most beloved modernist poets, died Monday morning after an extended period of illness at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital in Pundang, Kyonggi Province. He was 82.

Kim had been hospitalized since August after getting food caught in his air passage during a meal, which led to difficulties in breathing and caused damage to his brain.

From his early poems focusing on flowers as their subject matter to later works that Kim termed ``poetry of no meaning,’’ he tried to seize the nature hidden behind the world of objects by working against perceived ideologies and values. Critics said his rejection of meaning and ideology in his poems is closely associated with his painful experiences in surviving the Japanese colonial period.

Kim’s most famous poem is ``Flower,’’ which was written in his early days and showed the influence of the Austro-German poet Rainer Maria Rilke and the philosophy of existentialism. The poem has been ranked as a favorite poem among South Koreans in various polls.

Concerning ``Flower,’’ Kim once said: ``Some people view it as a poem of romance. In truth, however, it is philosophy about language and existentialism.’’

Kim first started his career as a poet in 1946 with a contribution to ``Nalgae (Wing)’’, a poetry collection for the first anniversary of Korean independence. He published his first volume of poetry, ``Kurumgwa Changmi (The Cloud and the Rose),’’ in 1948, which was later followed by other volumes, including ``Budapest-esoui Sonyoui Chugum (A Girl’s Death in Budapest),’’ ``Drawing of a Flower (Kkotui Somyo)’’ and ``Choyong Tanjang (Fragments on Choyong).’’ He published a total of 25 volumes of poetry during his life.

Born in 1922 near Pusan, Kim entered Nihon University in Tokyo in 1940 to study literature, but was expelled from the school two years later for denouncing Japanese colonial rule in Korea.

After being jailed in Japan for seven months, he returned home and pursued a career as high school teacher, professor, and, most importantly, poet. Kim enjoyed huge success, being recognized as one of the most influential poets in Korea’s literary circles. He was also elected to the National Assembly in 1981.

His wife Myong Sook-kyung died in 1999. He is survived by three sons and two daughters.

Much of Kim Chun-su’s poetry is challenging to read. English translations of a selection of his poems were made by Kim Jong-gil and published in Cornell University’s East Asia Series with the title ``The Snow Falling on Chagall’s Village’’ in 1998. The following two poems are taken from that volume.
Flower

Until I spoke his name,
he had been
no more than a mere gesture.
When I spoke his name,
he came to me
and became a flower.
Now speak my name,
one fitting this colour and odour of mine,
as I spoke his name,
so that I may go to him
and become his flower.
We all wish
to become something.
You to me and I to you
wish to become an unforgettable gaze.


The Snow Falling on Chagall’s Village

Snow falls on Chagall’s village, in March.
At the temple of a man looking forward to spring,
a new vein
trembles.
At the trembling temple of the man,
caressing the new vein,
the snow, with thousands of wings,
descends from heaven, covering
the roofs and chimneys of Chagall’s village.
When snow falls in March,
the winter berries of Chagall’s village
revive in olive
and women make
the most beautiful fire of the year
in their ovens.




michelle@koreatimes.co.kr