Part 1

Fallen fruit
empty chair
Fallen grain
empty water bottle
Apple
Exploring plum blossoms
Plum blossom viewing
Buddha's flower
Follow the flowers
Plum Blossom Buddha
parcel
When your heart becomes poor
About the mindlessness
Falling water
muddy water
salt
Planting bulbs
Eating bamboo shoots
How to walk in the snow
calm before the storm
In search of silence
While eating kimbap
I miss Seoul Station

Part 2

My heart is sad
broken heart
Blood writing
Sanctuary
The bird is always right
Birds don't shed tears
Back view
snowman
bonfire
New Year's Eve
Flower offering
shooting star
Dream of the Stars
Lee Sang's house
Rockfall
discouragement
Angel's Note
Angel's Words
Francis' House
Questions for me
Bell striking
spike
back street

Part 3

Waiting for yesterday
Holding a teacup
Poisoned cup
Falling method
When I came to find you
Manripo
Even at this moment
your net
Hat's thoughts
cloistered monastery
scapegoat
Ringing the funeral bell
Helpless
I was kidnapped
About failure
suicide or murder
barely
One night
A promise that cannot be kept
old shoes
Leaving home
It's cloudy
My Snowman

Part 4

Deer cry
Tattoo
mud
Whey flower
The Heart of a Rag
Regret about my mother
Father's diapers
Ask the bird
pawnshop
mask
rat hole
Responsibility for trees
The power of Jjajangmyeon
Chair of Time
fool
Fool to fool
To be a fool
hideout
shackles
The Root of Time
To the axe
escape
I have no heart

Part 5

line of vision
typhoon
At sunset
empty house
Group photo
last moment
The morning star seen by an ambulance driver
Before the flowers fall
A glass of water
Random accompaniment
Calling
Every moment
sunset
shroud
last moment
Struggle
About the coffin lid
closing prayer
your tears
Thoughts on Forgiveness
Last Prayer
My wish
New Year's Prayer

Commentary | Lee Seong-hyeok
Poet's words

Life is too short to love
Psalms about emptying the heart

As literary critic Lee Seong-hyeok said in the introduction to the commentary, “The poetic ethics of poet Jeong Ho-seung shown in this collection of poems are to think about how to accept the world of death, or in other words, to try to find a way to die,” the thoughts on ‘death’ stand out particularly in this collection of poems.
The poet begins the first verse of his first poem with the aphorism, “For me to fall to the ground/is to take responsibility” (“Falling Fruit”).
“When I want to die is when I want to live the most/I am the most beautiful when the flowers fall” (Plum Blossom Buddha).
That doesn't mean the poet praises death.
Rather than thinking of muddy water as a dirty thing that signifies death, death is thought of as the source of new life, just as muddy water is the water of life that nurtures seedlings ("Muddy Water").
That is why readers can sense life stirring behind the death that is omnipresent throughout this poetry collection.
The deaths in this collection of poems are intertwined with numerous social tragedies (e.g., “Even at This Moment” and “The Morning Star Seen by the Ambulance Driver”), but even amidst anger and despair, this collection of poems offers readers a purifying experience, like a “cleansing ritual.”

In the poet's view, our lives are “too short to love/too long to hate” (“Bonfire”).
But we are always troubled because we are too easily swept up in hatred and the resulting distress.
One answer the poet found was 'emptiness'.
The poet says, “An empty chair is a chair because it is empty” (“Empty Chair”), “An empty bucket is an empty bucket even when it is full of water” (“Empty Bucket”), and “An empty house is beautiful because it is an empty house” (“Empty House”).
In other words, since our minds are originally empty, it means that we must maintain our original state to live a beautiful life.
Rather than struggling to escape the pain and hatred of life, “If you don’t want anything/You don’t fear anything” (“Poison Cup”), let’s resolve to “not struggle anymore” (“Struggle”).
The metaphors of the 'bird', which lets itself be carried away by the wind and floats wherever it pleases, and of 'Saint Francis', who always lived a life of sharing, are placed throughout the poetry collection.

The poet's anecdotes, written in a calm tone throughout the poetry collection, are also very moving.
Especially, the stories about mothers naturally bring tears to my eyes as I read them. The regret of not being able to be there for her as she died ("Regret for Mother") and the scene where I sadly realize that I do not have a mother to scold me ("Cypress Flower") bring readers' hearts one step closer to their families as autumn approaches.


Love until it disappears
Jeong Ho-seung, the pride of Korean literature

On August 22nd, former President Moon Jae-in personally introduced poet Jeong Ho-seung's "The Person I Love" as his favorite poem.
This poem contains the phrase, “Sunlight is bright and dazzling only when there is shade.”
This passage also contains the poet's core idea that joy and life are splendid only when there is sorrow and death.
In “Sadness Came by Delivery,” this reasoning goes a step further.
If you believe that “even after death, humans exist through love” (“Even at This Moment”), then you can “not be afraid of loving until you disappear” (“Sunset”).
Poet Park Jun also spoke about poet Jeong Ho-seung, saying, “He was affectionate when he spoke about loneliness, and resolute when he spoke about solitude” (in his recommendation).
Because it is imbued with affectionate loneliness and resolute solitude, this collection of poems will also penetrate even more deeply into the hearts of many.
Because the times filled with loneliness never go away.


Now, having reached the twilight of his life, when he has “more days to die than days to live” (“Delivery”), there is no doubt that the poet will humbly accept even the “pain of writing poetry” (the poet’s words) with joy and continue to cultivate a pure poetic heart.
Thus, until the last moment of my life, I will continue to write poetry of tears with compassion for all beings and with the utmost love to “forgive the unforgivable” (“A Glass of Water”).
Therefore, this poetry collection, commemorating the 50th anniversary of his debut, is not a grand completion or monument to any kind of accomplishment, but rather a mere stop along the way that Jeong Ho-seung passes through.
And this station, too, will remain strong for a long time and become a proud part of Korean literature's history.

Poet's words

I cannot help but be grateful that I have been able to survive these difficult times for 50 years by writing poetry.
If I hadn't written poetry, what on earth would I have done and how would I have lived?
Where can we find value and joy in life?
First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the Absolute Being who allowed me to exist in this world and write poetry.
And I also express my gratitude to myself for enduring the pain of writing poetry and steadily walking the path of a poet.
(…)
Writing poetry in this day and age is a lonely and hungry undertaking.
But the fact that I cannot live without poetry has been the reality and essence of my life to this day.
As poet Kim Su-yeong said, “The poet’s teacher is reality,” the teacher of my poetry is reality.
The painful reality of living through this tragic era is the teacher of my poetry.
Through poetry, I have tried to understand myself, understand humanity, and understand the reality of the times I live in.
(…)
The scent of rotting apples is the scent of the apple's soul.
I hope that even as my body ages, my soul will be filled with the fragrance of poetry.
I earnestly pray that my heart toward poetry can return to the heart of the young man I was when I first debuted 50 years ago.

Fall 2022
Jeong Ho-seung