Yun Dong-ju

Yun Dong-ju
Korean name
Hangul	윤동주
Hanja	尹東柱
Revised Romanization	Yun Dong-ju
McCune–Reischauer	Yun Tongju
Pen name
Hangul	해환
Hanja	海煥
Revised Romanization	Haehwan
McCune–Reischauer	Haehwan

This is a Korean name; the family name is Yun.

Yun Dong-ju (December 30, 1917 – February 16, 1945) was a Korean poet active during the period of Japanese rule. Known for his writing of lyric poetry as well as resistance poetry against Japanese, he was born in Longjing, Jiandao, in present-day northeastern China. In the Japanese language, he was called Intouchu

Life

Yun Dong-ju was the eldest son among the 4 children of his father Yun Yeong-seok and his mother Kim Yong. As a child he was called "Haehwan" (해환, 海煥). On December 27, 1941 at the age of 23 years, 11 months, 27 days, he graduated from Yeonhui Technical School, which later became Yonsei University. He had been writing poetry from time to time, and chose 19 poems to publish in a collection he intended to call "Sky, Wind, Star, and Poem" (하늘과 바람과 별과 시), but he was unable to get it published.

In 1942, he went to Japan and entered the English literature department of Rikkyo University in Tokyo, before moving to Doshisha University in Kyoto six months later. On July 14, 1943, he was arrested as a thought criminal by the Japanese police and detained at the Kamogawa Police Station in Kyoto. The following year, the Kyoto regional court sentenced him to two years of prison on the charge of having participated in the independence movement. He was imprisoned in Fukuoka, where he died in February 1945.

The following month, he was buried in Longjing in Jiandao, his birth place.^[1]

In November 1968, Yonsei University and others established an endowment for the Yun Tong-ju Poetry Prize.

Sky, Wind, Star and Poem

In January 1948, 31 of his poems were published by Jeongeumsa, together with an introduction by fellow poet Chong Ji-yong; this work was also titled Sky, Wind, Star, and Poem. His poetry gave a huge impact. In 1976, Yun's relatives collected his other poems and added at the third edition of the book. The poems (116 in total) is considered as Yun's most of the work.

In 1986 survey, he became a 'most popular poet among the youths'^[2].

As his prologue goes, his poems catches the daily activity in sentimental view. It often contains deep consideration of the human, the world, and his self-reflection.

《서시》	Prologue
죽는 날까지 하늘을 우러러	May I look up into the heavens until the day I die
한점 부끄럼이 없기를,	Without a bit of shame
잎새에 이는 바람에도	From even the wind rustling the leaves
나는 괴로워했다.	I have suffered.
별을 노래하는 마음으로	With the heart singing the stars
모든 죽어가는 것을 사랑해야지.	I shall love all that is to die
그리고 나한테 주어진 길을	And the path given me
걸어가야겠다.	I shall walk
오늘밤에도 별이 바람에 스치운다.	Tonight also, the stars are touched by the wind

See also

• List of Korean language poets
• Korean independence movement
• Korean literature

References

Yu, Jong-ho (1996). "Yun, Tong-ju". Who's who in Korean literature. Seoul: Hollym. pp. 554–555. ISBN 1-56591-066-4. 

References

1. ^ 욘사마보다 윤사마가 좋아” 생체실험 희생의혹 윤동주, 日에서 부활하다 : 뉴스엔 (in Korean)
2. ^ http://dna.naver.com/viewer/index.nhn?articleId=1986020400209210001&editNo=2&printCount=1&publishDate=1986-02-04&officeId=00020&pageNo=10&printNo=19797&publishType=00020

External links

• Naver Encyclopedia entry
• The Heaven, The Wind, The Stars, and Poetry

Persondata
Name	Yun, Dong-ju
Alternative names
Short description	Korean poet
Date of birth	December 30, 1917
Place of birth
Date of death	February 16, 1945
Place of death