The Korea Herald 2002 8 17
Writer's Love of Japan's Poem Closing 'Gap'
Today, Koreans openly enjoy many forms of Japanese culture, such as film, music and literature, although the Korea government has temporarily suspended wider market openings in retaliation of Tokyo's refusal to revise ontroversial history textbooks
As for Japan, a growing number of its youngsters have come to embrace with respect and fascination the culture of Korea, a country their elders not so long ago colonized and looked down upon
It must have been with some envy that Son Hoyun watched all of these changes take place between the two countries
Although considered a master poet in Japan, the Seoul-based Korean artist has put up with a lifetime of indifference and disapproval at home for composing poems in the style of waka traditional Japanese poetry, regardless of the fact that she wrote primarily about Korean themes and sentiments Son's poems which number over 2000, range from the joy of liberation from Japanese colonial rule to the pain of the divided Korean peninsula to Mugungwha (rose of sharon)
- Korea's national flower
Decking the arch
Rose of Sharon on Namdaemun
neatly have they bloomed
in time for the day of liberation
from "Rose of Sharon"
Other poems, particularly ones in which she grieves the death of her beloved husband are more personal
Of late, there are signs that Korea may be reassessing Son and her works
In 2000, the Korean government awarded her the Order of Culture Merit in recognition of her contribution to introducing Korean sentiments to Japan
This month, a major Korean publishing company is set to release a compilation of Son's poems which have been translated into Korean by Son's eldest daughter, Lee Sunshine
"Stars are beautiful in Korea and Japan as they are in North Korea. So are my poems which are about human sentiments of joy and sadness and transcend border" said Son in an interview with The Korea Herald
"I wanted to convey the beauty of my country in a language that I was a little more used to than Korean" added Son who like other Koreans of her age, was educated in Japanese language in her early school years
Son was introduced to waka in 1940 while attending a university in Tokyo, Japan on a scholarship offered by Yi Bang-ja, the Japanese wife of Yeongchin, Korea's last crown prince
Son was immediately fascinated with waka, a very short poem consisting of 31 syllables and showed exceptional talent for it
However, she struggled with the question of whether it was appropriate for her to go on writing poems said to embody the Japanese national spirit and loved by Japanese for hundreds of years
Koreans underwent enormous physical and mental suffering under Japanese colonial rule 1910-1945, which included being forced to abandon the Korean language.
Son knew that no matter how pure her artistic intention, writing Japanese poems would invite, at the least, intense criticism
Each time she felt like calling it quits, Son said she reminded herself of the words of her teacher, Nobutsuna Sasaki (1872-1963), a renowned Japanese literary figure "He bid me to do 2 things" Son said. "First, not to try to give up halfway through" she said
Son said she was further inspired to keep on writing by Japanese waka writers who acknowledged Korean influence in the develoment of waka. Many waka masters of Japan believe that it originated from hyangga, Korea's ancient poetry from originating from the Silla Kingdom. Hyangga was conveyed to Japan by people of the Baekje Kingdom
Since 1958 Kodan, Japan's most influential publishing firm, has published 5books of Son's waka poems titled "Mugunghwa, Vol.1-5"(rose of sharon, Korean national flower) 5 of her works also made it to an anthology of waka poems which the publishing house produced to commemorate its 70th anniverary In Aomori Prefecture stands a monument in honor of Son, inscribed with one of her representative songs
My dearest
have you for a moment
closed thy eyes
so thou can measure the depth of my love?
from "Beloved"
The monument was erected in 1997 by Kazuo Nukazawa, a senior adviser of Keidanren, the Japanese equivalent of the Federation of Korean Industries who was deeply moved by Son's poems
In 1998 Son again proved her literary status in Japan when she was invited by the Japanese Emperor to partake in an annual New Year's waka recital at the royal palace
Last year Kodansha published "Snowstorm Singer ㅡ Half centry of Son Hoyun" a biography depicting Son's life written by Akira Kidate, director of promotional department at Japan National Tourist Organization
Today Son continues to compose waka verses as fervently as ever 'Mother finds something to write about every situation of life, whether riding in an elevator or rummaging through old pictures. We never have to worry about her quitting writing poems" said Sunshine Lee, Son's eldest daughter
by Kim Min-hee staff reporter mhkim@koreaherlad.co.kr
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