Poet savors beauty of Korea's nature

Song In-yeup, left, author of “Beautiful Korea!,” poses on the top of Chilgapsan Mountain in Cheongyang, South Chungcheong Province. / Courtesy of Song In-yeup

By Baek Byung-yeul

The beauty of nature has been a favorite subject for many poets over many centuries.

Former international aid worker Song In-yeup is also a poet who writes about the irresistible splendor of nature. Though he is not a professional poet, he has expressed his impressions of more than 80 destinations around the world in poetry during his days with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and published his first poetry book titled “World Travel, Singing in Poems” in 2013.

Recently, Song has published a new poetry book “Beautiful Korea!” a poem collection glorifying the beautiful nature of his motherland.

Comprised of 79 poems including introduction and coda, Song explores the mountains and streams on the Korean Peninsula, ranging from Mount Baekdu, the highest mountain on the peninsula, to the southern part’s highest Mount Halla on Jeju Island.

“When looking at beautiful scenic areas of the country, I couldn’t help writing about them. Those experiences made me write poems about 70 famous mountains, eight rivers and picturesque islands,” Song told The Korea Times.

“Beautiful Korea!” written by Song In-yeup

While his previous poetry “World Travel, Singing in Poems” focused on providing vivid impressions of the destinations in the world he has visited, Song filled his new poetry book with his feelings for Korea with a warm and loving touch.

In “Mt. Baekdu,” he also expressed his poignant wish toward the unification of the two Koreas:

“It has been 70 years since breaking up with Mt. Halla.

When the day the two brothers meet, they shall weep with bitter tears as well as the sky shall cry,”

As an international aid specialist, Song had passed on Korea’s development experience to developing countries while serving at KOICA for more than two decades. Established in 1991, KOICA is a Seoul-based foreign development assistance agency under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Since his retirement from in 2013, Song has been lecturing on the subject of international development and cooperation at the Korea National University of Education.

“Beautiful Korea!” is published by Knowledge and Sensibility Publishing. 188 pages. 12,000 won.