Kim Namjo is a Korean poet.

Life

Kim Namjo was born on September 25, 1927, in

Daegu Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. She attended a girls' school in

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and graduated from

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three "S ...

's College of Education in 1951 with a degree in Korean Language Education. Kim made her official literary debut in 1950 while still in college, publishing the poetry collection ''Constellations''. Kim taught at Masan High School and

Ewha Girls' High School Ewha Girls' High School ( ko, 이화여자고등학교) is a private girls high school located in Jeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Although managed by the same foundation, it is not to be confused with the coeducational Ewha Womans Unive ...

. She became a professor at

Sookmyung Women's University Sookmyung Women’s University () is a private university in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1906, Sookmyung is Korea’s first royal private educational institution for women. The university's name is derived from the Hanja charact ...

in 1954 and is now a

professor emerita ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

there. Kim served as chairperson of

Society of Korean Poets The Society of Korean Poets () is a literary organization established in 1957. It is the oldest active poetry organization in South Korea. Every year, the organization awards the Society of Korean Poets Award, and holds the National High School ...

and is currently a member of the Korean Academy of Arts.

Work

Kim Namjo's poetry features dynamic use of sensual language and vibrant imagery to portray the subtlety of human emotions. Kim's work follows in the tradition of Mo Yunsuk and

Noh Cheonmyeong Noh Cheonmyeong (; September 2, 1912 – December 10, 1957) was an early-modern South Korean poet. Biography Noh Cheonmyeong was born on September 2, 1912, in Kōkai-dō, Korea under Japanese rule, Korea, Empire of Japan. In 1934 Noh graduate ...

. Kim's main theme was love, but not simply the love shared by a man and woman, but also the love shared between a human and the "Absolute Being. The poems in her first poetry collection, ''Life'' (''Moksum''), offer both an affirmation of humanity and a passion for the vitality of life. These poems also present a harmonious balance between

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

piety and an ardent human voice. The poems in Kim's second collection, ''Naadeuui hyangyu'', and third collection place an increasingly heightened emphasis on religious faith, focusing much attention on the exploration of Christian humanism and ethics. Her later poems discard passion for restraint and perseverance as part of an ongoing religious self-examination. In the collection ''Winter Ocean'' (''Gyeoul Bada''), the poet describes a world in which human emotions have attained absolute purity.

Works in translation

* Selected Poems of Kim Namjo - English (''Kim Namjo Siseon''), translated by David R. McCann and Hyunjae Yee Sallee * Windtaufe - German (''Baram serye'') * Песни сегодняшнего и завтрашнего дня - Russian (''Oneul geurigo naeil-ui norae'') * Antologia poética - Spanish (''Kim Namjo Siseonjib'')
Rain, Sky, Wind, Port
- English (Codhill Press, 2014), translated by Hillel Schwartz and Sunny Jung

Works in Korean (Partial)

* ''Life'' (정념의 기) * ''A Heart's Flag'' (정념의 기) * ''Love's Cursive'' (사랑초서) * ''Music of the Pine Woods'' (송림의 음악) * ''For a While, and Forever'' (잠시, 그리고 영원히) * ''The Poems of Kim Namjo'' (김남조 시집) * ''The Complete Poems of Kim Namjo'' (김남조 시전집)

Awards

* First Annual Association of Free Literature Prize (1958) * May Literary Prize (1963) * Prize for Poetry of Korean Poets Association (1974) * The Culture and Arts Prize of the Republic of Korea (1988) * Seoul City Cultural Award (1990) * Samil Culture Award (1991) * National Order of Merit (1993) * Proud Artist Award - Contributions (2000) *

Manhae Prize The Manhae Prize is a series of awards in the following categories: Peace, Social Service, Academic Excellence, Art, Literature, and Buddhist Missionary Work awarded by The Society for the Promotion and Practice of Manhae's Thoughts in memory of Bu ...

(2007) *

Jeong Jiyong Literature Prize Jeong Jiyong Literature Prize (Hangul: 정지용문학상) is a literary award established in 1989 for poet and poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic ...

(2017)

References