∥Book Review∥




Contemplation of Light
We feature three works by kinetic artist Hyungnam Ahn, who works with light and sound.
You can thoroughly explore the artist's artistic world and identity, which fully captures the process of exploring his roots.


In publishing this issue
Greetings from Jeong Myeong-gyo, the weekly editor of this newspaper.


17th Gusan Literary Award
The Gusan Literary Award has been announced.
Poets Go Cheol and Go Hyeong-ryeol jointly won the honor of being elected.
The winning entry was accompanied by a written acceptance speech.


2025 Contemporary Poetry Newcomer Award
We included the five winning pieces along with poet Naan's acceptance speech.
You will be able to encounter the novel ideas and thoughts of a poet who has just taken his first steps into the literary world.



My poem is my 00
We will hear poet Lee Hyang-ji's theory of poetry under the title, "My poetry is my nomad rock."
Poet Lee Hyang-ji's poetry resembles the nomad's lack of a fixed location, always and everywhere, without making a shore.
The poet's nomadic wild story unfolds, as he seeks to establish his identity by not settling down anywhere and by not being tamed.
The poet's nomadic spirit is fully captured in the process of creatively discovering new territories.

Although we live in a world where we cannot survive without the Internet, I hope that the poet's nomadic "wild" grounds, where he seeks to show the world through invisible language, will continue.
Four other works, including “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” were included.


The potential of Korean poetry
Critic Moon Seong-uk captures the potential of Korean poetry in Song Hee-ji's poetry collection, "Ingeol Sugar."

Why must I say this, “again”? Because I am who I am.
To prove myself, I must prove my abnormality, but by dividing myself into the spoken and unspoken self, I am not allowed the peace of identity.
I have a duty to prove myself and not back down from my delusions.
We analyzed the poet Song Hee-ji's method of proving existence, which conveys through the language of poetry that only the performance of that duty and only the writing is the best pose.



Korean poets of today
Critic Song Yeon-jeong reviewed the recent poetry collections by poets Son Se-ha, Seo Gwi-ok, and Seo Ho-jun under the title, “Apple Trees That Did Nothing Wrong.”
I am discovering a sense of self-denial that speaks to reality in its own realm.
Se-ha Son, who speaks of a method familiar to practice instead of recovery and suturing, Gwi-ok Seo, who becomes sweeter the more he is stabbed, and Ho-jun Seo, who breaks through the world with a clumsy heart.
Three poets convey the way of living in the world.


Poets' Dialogue
Poet Song Jae-hak, who transforms everyday scenes into inner language, had a conversation with poet Jo Hye-eun, analyzing her sentence structure and the world of metaphor and simile.
Questions and answers were exchanged about Song Jae-hak's poetic spirit, which maintains a new sensibility by not losing his passion for the world and literature.
Poet Song Jae-hak asked poet Jo Hye-eun a question about the perspective between life and the language of poetry.
Poet Cho Hye-eun responded that although life is often reflected in her writing, even when the speaker describes herself, she goes through the process of refining the situation and emotions the speaker is in, and that this seems to be the process of transforming the language of life into the language of poetry.
Poet Song Jae-hak shows himself as a writer sensitive to language by mentioning that he uses vocabulary from the Korean dictionary that he compiled himself.
In addition, it talks about writing sensual poetry influenced by the language of hyangga, shamanism, and sorcery.

It is also worth noting Song Jae-hak's review of Jo Hye-eun's oxymoron, in which vocabulary that becomes poetry from life appears as a tight stitching that connects the entire collection of poems.
I hope you will have fun approaching the question of what is the "most necessary vocabulary in literature" by listening to the stories of two poets about the "fascination" of the senses that drives them to write poetry and the fascination of the emotions that drive poetry.


Genre communication
We explore poet Yoo Hee-kyung's method of communicating through both poetry and plays.
“Poetry does not come from me.
It just goes through the poet.
I feel the power of language that pushes forward the idea that “we must cross over to the uncrossable.”
I am confident that a story that seeks to create difference will be born, not at all different from the poet's awakening, which says, "Only through the utmost love for life and the world."
Author Yoo Hee-kyung said, “I have finally begun to look forward to putting my whole self into a story.”
Countless clones come out of the darkness, from one side to the other, to say hello, and they know that when the auditorium lights come on, they must return.



New poem
A total of nine works were published, including poet Jin Eun-young's "The Petty Crimes of the First Poet," poet Kim Sang-mi's "In the Hospice Ward," poet Woo Dae-sik's "Sudden Withdrawal 5 - Guard," poet Yang Anda's "Persistence," poet Son Taek-su's "Secret Love Affair," poet Sim Bo-seon's "An Inevitable Future," poet Lee Gyu-ri's "Conference Room," poet Lee Ha-seok's "Euaree," and poet Kim Seo-na's "Hand Numbness."


Poetry Contest in the Open Fields
This issue features the work of a poet who wishes to remain anonymous.
The judges commented that the submitted works were worth reading because they showed the desire to create one's own poetic world.
In the review, we hear thoughts on why poetry makes life unfamiliar.