Self Portrait - Yoon Dong Joo

Self Portrait 
              
                                 Yoon Dong Joo

Turning around the corner of a mountain and
Reaching a remote well, I look into myself lonely.

There are bright moon, flowing cloud,
open sky, blowing blue wind and autumn in the well

And there is a man
Somewhat the man seemed  detestable, so I left

Thinking while leaving, the man
seemed to be poor
Going back, the man was still there

The man seemed to be detestable again and I left again
Thinking while leaving,
I missed the man.

There are bright moon, flowing cloud,
open sky, blowing blue wind, autumn,
and a man like a reminiscence in the well.

Confession -(Poem by) Yoon Dong Joo

Confession
                                                   
                                                      -Yoon Dong Joo
                               

The thing that my face remaining in a rusted copper mirror in blue,
Which property of dynasty is it as why it is so shameful

I summarize my confession in a sentence
- full 24 years and 1 month
With what pleasure I have lived through

tomorrow or the day after tomorrow or on any pleasant day,
I should write a sentence of confession
- At the time, at the young age
why did I confess which is so shameful.

Every night and night, I would my clean the mirror
with my palm and sole.

Then there will be figure of a sad person from the back,
going under a meteorite lonely

Prologue - Yoon Dong Joo

Prologue
                         Yoon-Dong-Ju
Till the day I die,
wish not to have any point of shame
With the wind blowing to a leaf,
I suffered
With the mind of singing the star,
should love the all the dying
And I am going to walk my given way

Tonight, too,
the star is blowed by the wind

Intro - About Yoon-Dong-Joo(Brief)

Yoon Dong Joo(1917~1945)

 Yoon-Dong-Joo was born in 1917. And died in Fukuoka prison in 1945 about 6 months before Korea got independence. He was born in Gando, (which is often called as Manchuria by westerners). He was a Christian and graduated Yeon-Hee Univerisity which is now Yonsei University. Since he lived through the dark ages of Korea(Colony of Japan for 36 years), as one of the Korean intellectuals he felt somewhat guilty about that his lethargy derived from his thoughts that he can't do something for his nation. As a result, in his poems the readers will be able to find out his remorse and reflection about himself.
He was imprisoned in 1944 on charge of disrupting the public order which was caused by his poems, which could be considered as 'resistant' to the Japan by Japanese. It is known that he was used by Japanese for a medical experiment on a living body. Sadly, he died in February with an unknown disease, 20th in Fukuoka prison with the
age of 28.

He's one of the representations of Korean literature, and one of the most favored poets in Korean society.