THE KUKMIN DAILY

* The photo shows (from left to right) manuscript copies of “The Prologue” and “The night I count the stars,” and books left by Yun. (Photo courtesy of Exhibit Preparation Committee)


This February, marking the 70th year since the death of Christian poet Yun Dong-ju (1917∼1945), his works will be exhibited at Christian universities in Japan. It will be the first time for the poet’s manuscripts to be shown in that country.

The Exhibit Preparation Committee (chair: Father Yu Shi-gyeong, Anglican Church of Korea) announced on January 27 that it has organized a series of exhibitions of Poet Yun’s manuscripts, books he owned, and books containing his works. The exhibitions in Japan will be held at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Doshisha University in Kyoto, and Rikkyo University in Tokyo, all of them closely related to Yun’s life in Japan. He studied in Tokyo and Kyoto, and the last moments of his life were spent in a prison in Fukuoka.

Father Yu Shi-gyeong, Korean office director at Rikkyo University and chair of the Committee, has made great efforts to actualize the exhibition tour. He has prepared various events to commemorate Poet Yun ever since his chaplaincy at Rikkyo University, from 2008 to 2010. He established the “Poet Yun Dong-ju Commemorative Society” in 2008 to host a memorial gathering every February near the anniversary of Yun’s death, and raised funds for the “Yun Dong-ju International Exchange Scholarship.”

Christianity was the core of Yun’s life. His grandfather was an elder at Myeongdong Church in Manchuria, and Yun himself was baptized as a baby and grew up Christian. Some of his poems are Biblical, such as “The Cross,” “Eight blessings,” “Go with your eyes closed,” and “Until the dawn breaks.” Rikkyo University is operated by the Anglican Episcopal Church in Japan, and Doshisha University also is a Christian school.

Fr. Yu said, “Having grown up in the Christian faith, Yun presented the pure spirit and true meaning of life in his poems… This exhibition will be very meaningful for Christians in Japan as well as in Korea. As Japanese society is becoming more and more right-wing, causing troubles for Asian countries including Korea, now is an important time to read Yun’s poems. His works will help us remember history correctly, so that together we can draw our peaceful, desirable future.”

The exhibition will include Yun’s manuscripts of “The poem that is not a poem,” “The Window” and other poems; collections of poems by Jeong Ji-yong, Yeong-rang, and Baek-seok; books from his collection including works by Paul Valery, Marcel Proust and others; and 51 books containing Yun’s works, such as “Sky, Wind, Stars and Poem” and “Five Poems Written on Rikkyo University Stationery.” All the items in the exhibit are owned by Yonsei University’s “Yun Dong-ju Memorial Society,” and are being loaned to the Committee.

Along with a memorial service, a lecture series is planned as well: Prof. Yun In-seok of Sungkyunkwan University, Poet Yun’s nephew, will give a lecture on February 8th, and Poet Ko Un on the 14th.

On February 22 at Rikkyo University, writer Song U-hye, author of a critical biography of Yun Dong-ju, will present a lecture. Also on this occasion, there will be a poem reading in both Korean and Japanese, and a worship service remembering Poet Yun.

Reporter Jin Samyeol (samuel@kmib.co.kr), with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)


Click here for the original article in Korean