In the moment when body and soul

touch the earth as one,

that very instant—

we call it The Splendor of Blossoming Years,

the flowering of the soul.

Ms. Yang Geum-Hee is an acclaimed poetess and scholar from South Korea

Poetess Ms. Yang Geum-Hee, born in 1967 in Jeju, Korea, has published four poetry collections and received eight literary awards in recognition of her contributions to literature. Nests of Birds (a bilingual English-Korean edition) and an essay collection titled A Happy Companion on the Journey. In acknowledgment of her extensive contributions to international literature, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the International Forum for Creativity and Humanity (President Dr. Aziz Mountassir) in the Kingdom of Morocco in March 2025. Poet Ms. Yang was Editor-in-Chief of Jejuin News, a researcher at the Jeju Sea Grant Center, a specially appointed professor at Jeju International University, and the second President of the Korean Association of World Literature. She currently serves as an editorial writer for Samda Ilbo, President of Jeju PEN, and Vice President of the Korean Peace Cooperation. I am also a member of the Consortium of Distinguished Scholars under the International Academy of Ethics.

Her poetry has been translated into multiple languages and introduced in countries including the United States, China, Japan, Germany, Russia, Italy, Spain, England, Taiwan, Nepal, Egypt, Greece, Pakistan, Vietnam, Albania, Bangladesh, Kosovo, Tajikistan, Belgium, and beyond.

Whispering to the Flower

Even a flower at the zenith of beauty

must bear the weight

to uphold its color.

 

Time gone by turns into fragrance,

adorning its wounds,

while each new dawn blooms

with the shadow of fear in its heart.

 

From where it stands,

the flower receives

the resonance of laughter and tears—

a single weeping of petals.

 

It cools the flames

of greed, anger, and delusion

with the breath of nobility,

and along the stem of awakening

even the remnants of anguish

are dyed in the hues of truth.

 

Thus,

in the moment when body and soul

touch the earth as one,

that very instant—

we call it The Splendor of Blossoming Years,

the flowering of the soul.

***

꽃에게 속삭인다

아름다움의 절정에 선 꽃도

그 색채를 지탱하려면

무게를 견뎌야 한다.

 

지나간 시간은 향기가 되어

상처를 미화하고,

새로운 아침은

두려움의 그림자를 안고 핀다.

 

꽃은 제 자리에서

웃음과 눈물의 공명을

꽃울음으로 받아낸다.

 

탐진치(貪瞋癡)의 불꽃을

고귀한 숨결로 식히며,

깨달음의 꽃대궁을 따라

고뇌의 잔재마저

진리의 색으로 물들인다.

 

그리하여,

몸과 마음이 모두 땅에 닿는

오체투지의 순간

그것이야말로

화양연화(花樣年華)라 부르는

영혼의 개화다.

________________ 

Read: Aesthetics of wind – A Poem from Jeju Island