By Kim Bo-eun
Excellent works of literature transcend borders and capture the hearts of people regardless of nationality, said Mahmoud Ahmad Abdul Ghaffar, who received a doctorate on comparative literature at Myongji University last month.
Abdul Ghaffar studied the characteristics of Korean poets Ko Un and Kim Kwang-kyu’s works, to compare them with modern poetry from his home country Egypt.
“Although the two countries seem to have little in common at a glance, they actually do have several commonalities if you look closer,” said Abdul Ghaffar in a phone interview. “Both countries have a history of being colonized, and both have been under dictatorships.”
According to the 41-year-old, these commonalities are seen when comparing the poetry of Ko Un and Egyptian poet Amal Donqul.
“The metaphors used by the poets are similar. When they use the word home, it symbolizes their nation. A woman or mother is also used as a metaphor for home.”
Although Abdul Ghaffar had his mind set on studying Korean literature, the road had not been easy. The hardest part was interpreting the meanings of the words and phrases in the poems.
“One word (in a poem) can have hundreds of meanings. Understanding the cultural meaning of the words was a challenge,” he said. “While studying the poems I often misunderstood the metaphors. I guess being able to understand the cultural meaning takes time.”
Abdul Ghaffar came to Korea in 2006 to teach Arabic, which a student had suggested while he was working as an assistant lecturer at Cairo University.
He plans to go back to the university and teach students about Korea and Korean literature. According to him, there’s been some level of interest in Korean literature in his home country.
“When I first posted Kim Kwang-kyu’s poem titled “Confession,” on my Facebook page, many of my friends commented that they liked it and that they wanted to see more Korean poems. After returning to Egypt, I will continue to study Korean poetry and translate them into Arabic,” he said.