Lee Seung-Ha is a South Korea Poet

Poet Lee Seung-Ha was born in 1960 in Uiseong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. He made his literary debut in 1984 when one of his poems won the JoongAng Ilbo New Year’s Literary Contest, and later, in 1989, one of his short stories was also selected in the Kyunghyang Shinmun New Year’s Literary Contest. His poetry collections include Do You Know the Sorrow of Job (אִיוֹב)?, Days of Surveillance and Punishment, Reciting a Lifetime, Human Desert, and Jesus • Violence, among others. He has also written literary biographies such as The First Priest, Kim Dae-geon, The Last Confucian Scholar, Choi Ik-hyeon, A True Free Spirit, Oh Sang-soon, and Counting the Stars of Youth – Yun Dong-ju. He has received numerous literary awards, including the Jihoon Literary Award, Poetry and Poetics Award, Pyeonun Award, Yusim Literary Award, Hwang Soon-won Literary Research Award, and Seoul City Cultural Award. He is currently Professor Emeritus in the Department of Creative Writing at Chung-Ang University.

With Painter Munch

A a cry is h heard from anywhere

I I can’t b bear it

I want to th throw up

C continually,

C continuously,

A cry is h heard

The looks of anxieties

Which o open their arms and stand before a t target

Hmm… witnessing such a d dishonorable scene

I am h horrified and want to r run away

The a assimilation into one s society, the a assimilation into one v voice

That sound of a bitch, that c cry

L lots of mass murder b behind the end of a century

It is hard to p put on the pace,

but why should I c confess? Did I do something wrong?

I am h horrified at how e empty this city is

It’s that very l laughter

E eventually,

F finally,

I become i insane

Hmm… Oh, boat people Oh, empty world

I will d d d deny you…  

Translated by Lim Jae-hee

***

화가 뭉크와 함께

어디서 우 울음 소리가 드 들려

겨 겨 견딜 수가 없어 나 난 말야

토 토하고 싶어 울음 소리가

끄 끊어질 듯 끄 끊이지 않고   

드 들려와

야 양팔을 벌리고 과 과녁에 서 있는

그런 부 불안의 생김새들

우우 그런 치욕적인

과 광경을 보면 소 소름 끼쳐

다 다 달아나고 싶어

도 동화同化야 도 동화童話의 세계야

저놈의 소리 저 우 울음 소리

세 세기말의 배후에서 무 무수한 학살극

바 발이 잘 떼어지지 않아 그런데

자 자백하라구? 내가 무얼 어쨌기에

소 소름 끼쳐 터 텅 빈 도시

아니 우 웃는 소리야 끝내는

끝내는 미 미쳐버릴지 모른다

우우 보트 피플이여 텅 빈 세계여

나는 부 부 부인할 것이다

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Read: On the Road – Poetry from Korea