Cheon Sang-byeong
Born | Cheon Sang-byeong January 29, 1930 Japan |
---|---|
Died | April 28, 1993(1993-04-28) (aged 63) |
Language | Korean |
Nationality | South Korean |
Citizenship | South Korean |
Alma mater | Seoul National University |
Korean name | |
Hangul | 천상병 |
---|---|
Hanja | 千祥炳 |
Revised Romanization | Cheon Sang-byeong |
McCune–Reischauer | Ch'ŏn Sang-pyŏng |
Cheon Sang-byeong (Korean: 천상병; January 29, 1930 – April 28, 1993) was a South Korean writer.[1]
Life
Cheon Sang-byeong was born in the Empire of Japan on January 29, 1930. He immigrated to Masan, Korea in 1945, after Korea was liberated from Japan.[2] It was then that the 15-year-old Cheon began writing poems in the language of his ancestry. He published his first poem "River Water" while still in school.[3] Cheon went to Seoul National University for a short period.[4] In 1967 he was implicated in the East Berlin Spy Incident [ko] and jailed for six months during which he was tortured.[5] This experience scarred Cheon who became impotent and alcoholic. Found unconscious on the street Cheon was institutionalized and his friends, believing him to be dead, published a posthumous book of his poetry.[6]
Cheon, however recovered and began a prolific career.
Work
Cheon's poetry was written in a condensed style, and explored themes of existentialism. His most famous poem “Return to Heaven” (Gwicheon), speaks of a man's encounter with the afterlife and his journey from life to death, as a passing from one world to another: "I am returning to heaven, the day on which my sojourn to this beautiful world ends. Go and say it was beautiful".[7]
Works in translation
- Rumanian: L ÎNTOARCEREA ÎN CER detail (천상병 시선집)
- Serbian: ПОВРАТАК НА НЕЪО detail (천상병 시선집 <귀천>)
- Spanish: Regreso al cielo detail (귀천)
- Turkish: Gőğe dőnüş detail (귀천)
- French: Retour au ciel detail (천상병시선-귀천)
[8]
Works in Korean (Partial)
- Bird (1971)
- At the Roadside Inn (1979)
- If Even the Journey to Afterlife Costs Money (1987)
- I'm Going Back to Heaven (1993)
- Collected Works of Cheon Sang-byeong (1996)
[9]
References
- ^ "천상병" biographical PDF available at LTI Korea Library or online at: "Author Database - Korea Literature Translation Institute". Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
- ^ "Cheon Sang-byeong" LTI Korea Datasheet available at LTI Korea Library or online at: "Author Database - Korea Literature Translation Institute". Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
- ^ "Cheon Sang-byeong". Korean Writers The Poets. Minumsa Press. 2005. pp. 116–17.
- ^ Jaihiun J. Kim (1987). "CHon Sangbyong". Korean Poetry Today 450 Poems Since the 1920s. Seoul: Hanshin. pp. 1248–9–15. ASIN B000BNC2DE.
- ^ "Cheon Sang-byeong". Korean Writers The Poets. Minumsa Press. 2005. pp. 116–17.
- ^ "Cheon Sang-byeong". Korean Writers The Poets. Minumsa Press. 2005. pp. 116–17.
- ^ "Cheon Sang-byeong" LTI Korea Datasheet available at LTI Korea Library or online at: "Author Database - Korea Literature Translation Institute". Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
- ^ "Cheon Sang-byeong" LTI Korea Datasheet available at LTI Korea Library or online at: "Author Database - Korea Literature Translation Institute". Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
- ^ "Cheon Sang-byeong". Korean Writers The Poets. Minumsa Press. 2005. pp. 116–17.
External links
- (in Korean) "Cheon Sang-byeong" - at Naver
- (in Korean) Cheon Sang-byeong Art Festivalofficial