Mun Tae-jun

Mun Tae-jun (, born 1970) is a South Korean poet.

Career

Mun Tae-jun has published several poetry collections since his prize-winning debut in 1994, and the great artistic potential of his works have gained the attention of many literary artists and critics.

Mun Tae-jun's poems employ a comforting language to soothe the wounds of the soul. His poems seek to assuage the pains of those suffering from the violence and oppression of a heartless society. He values "conversation" highly, emphasizing full empathy between two existences, such as when he says, "That over there, is in me here; and I here, am in that over there. Let me respect that which is not me, and therefore those things that are me." The poet aspires to a state in which the subject and object are not distinct form one another, but fused together. In this respect, Mun Tae-jun carries on the traditional lyrical tradition. His poetry collection ''The Development of Dusk'' (2008) was translated to English by Kim Won-Chung and Christopher Merrill and published as ''The Growth of a Shadow'' (2012). A handful of his other works have also been translated.

Selected works

Works in translation

* ''The Growth of a Shadow: Selected Poems of Taejoon Moon'' (2012) - translated by Kim Won-Chung and Christopher Merrill

Works in Korean (partial)

Poetry collections

* ''Crowded Backyard'' (, 2000)
* ''Bare Feet'' (, 2004)
* ''Flatfish'' (, 2006)
* ''The Development of Dusk'' (, 2008)
* ''A Distant Place'' (, 2012)
* ''Our Final Face'' (, 2015)
* ''What Is the End of What I Long For?'' (, 2018)

Prose collections

* ''Embrace: Holding You, I Am Stained'' (, 2007)

Awards

* Dongseo Literary Prize (2004)
* Nojak Literary Prize (2004)
* Midang Literary Award (2005) - for "누가 울고 간다"
* Yushim Literary Prize (2006)
* Sowol Poetry Prize (2006) - for "그맘때에는"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mun, Tae-jun
1970 births
South Korean writers
South Korean poets
Living people
Midang Literary Award winners
South Korean Buddhists