Yang Wang-yong's sixth poetry book, 'From Mt. Baekdu to Haeundae Beach'

“From Mt. Baekdu to Haeundae Beach.” by Yang Wang-yong

By Choi Yearn-hong

Poet Yang Wang-yong is vice president of the Korean Poets and Writers’ Association, representing 14,000 Korean poets, essayists, novelists and all other writers. Last month, he and poet Moon Hyo-chi, president of the association, led a delegation of Korean poets and writers to Washington, D.C. for a joint symposium on the internationalization of Korean literature, the first such symposium in the United States. At the symposium, Yang encouraged Moon to expand on the Korean literature in the United States, and which Moon gladly did. A bridge of cooperation was established at the literary event.

I received a gift from Yang, his most recent poetry book, “From Mt. Baekdu to Haeundae Beach.” I have known the distinguished poet and scholar of modern Korean literature at Busan National University for more than 30 years. The book is composed of five parts: the first on poems from his trip to Manchuria on the North Korean border; the second on poems from his current residences on Haeundae Beach and in Gyeongsang Province; the third on poems about his granddaughter; the fourth on poems about his critical views on the Korean literary world, such as overproduced poets and writers published in senseless literary magazines; and the fifth on his Christian poems about witnessing Jesus Christ.

All his poems are easy to read, which I appreciate. As a young poet, he used to produce very sophisticated poems with the language of ambiguity and poetic tension. Now, he is a retired college professor and poet who takes his poetry and life easy. I like the transition from one stage to another. I looked at him as a more mature man and poet. As a matter of fact, he was a college student under the tutelage of famed poet Kim Choon-soo in the 1960s. I myself met Kim as a young army lieutenant in Daegu in 1963. Kim was Yang’s mentor. Life is basically marching from the young to the old, a march toward maturity. Kim is now more appreciated for his series of scholarly articles and commentary on Korean poets in the United States, exploring Korean diaspora in literature. Kim is part of the overseas Korean literature. In the symposium, he compared the difference between the Los Angeles poets who were feeling nostalgia for their homeland and the Washington, D.C. poets who were accepting their American life. It was an interesting comparison between the Korean poets in the East and West of the United States.

Let me start with Yang’s most recent poems. The most touching poems were in the first part of the book, in which he was traveling in the cities and towns of the Goguryeo Kingdom in the 21st century and lamenting the division of the homeland under a war-like situation. He shared the Mt. Baekdu ridge with the Goguryeo people. I can imagine the same geography of the cities and towns two thousand years ago. The same mountains and rivers were there. The imagination of the poet made me return to the grandeur of the great King Gwangketo and his son, King Changsoo, who erected a stone monument to his father’s achievements. The poet’s imaginative power was priceless. At the same time, Yang saw the poverty-stricken North Korean people in the distance, over the Yalu and Tumen rivers. He could not approach them, and they could not even exchange a look with the traveling poet. How sad the situation was! His agony was mine and my fellow Koreans’. Ironically, history can be the major foundation of national unification.

The poems in the second part from Yang’s current residence at Haeundae Beach went to his hometown in Namhae, his school town, Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, and his college town, Daegu, North Gyeongsang Province. I shared his memories of poet Kim Choon-soo and of another poet, Chung Gong-chae, a famed Yonsei University graduate, both from Gyeongsang Province. My affection and admiration went to the two good poets. The poets are gone, but their memories remain in a young poet’s heart and mind.

His Haewoondae poems are the core of this part. The Silla poet Choe Chi-won named the beach Haeundae more than 1,000 years ago. Yang has produced a series of poems on Haeundae. In between, I found Choonwon’s poem on Haewoondae. While Choonwon is known as great novelist in the beginning of the 20th century, he has also produced more than 100 good poems. I am glad to share Choonwon’s poem, which I translated, here.

“Haeundae*

Bright moon on blue waves,

Fresh wind in green mountains,

Bright moon and fresh wind dwell on this seashore pavilion

and my soul and body, dusted from the city, are cleansed.

The sea alone is good.

The mountain alone is good enough.

The village, however, is blessed where the sea meets the mountain.

Bright moon and fresh winds make this village a dreamland.

Lying on the floor, I see the moon over the mountain.

Sitting on the floor, I see the moon over the sea.

Through the Five Islands, a passing fishing boat carries the moon on its mast.

How can I leave this pavilion?

How can I leave this fresh wind and bright moon?

I will enjoy this scene until morning.

Who dares to sleep tonight?

*Haeundae is now a prosperous district of Busan, southernmost port city, Korea. The name means “sea cloud hill.”

The poems in the third part of the book were dedicated to his granddaughter’s growth, starting with her birth. The personal and affectionate poems convey their grandfather-granddaughter relationship.

The poems in the fourth part were striking to me, because there are now too many poets in South Korea. I don’t know whether they are all decent poets. The overproduction of poets by so many mediocre literary magazines must be blamed. Yang declared that he no longer wants to be a poet, if the situation continues. This is Yang’s serious poetic declaration. I don’t mind millions of poets in Korea, as long as they deserve to be poets.

The poems in the last part of his book were written about his Christian faith. He is serving his church as an elder. When I met him, I noticed his humble language and behavior. Christianity means one’s humility and gratitude, constantly praying for placing his or her mind toward the almighty. I have come to know him more from the poems in this book.

This poetry book has been chosen by the Ministry of Culture and Information to be distributed to all public libraries in Korea. I am glad to read this poetry book, which can be the best gift one can give to another.

Dr. Choi is a Washington, D.C.-based poet and writer.