I don’t know where my hometown is.

I think I heard it’s a mountain.

Or I remember it’s a sea.

Ms. Jee Eun-kyung, a poetess from Korea, the Land of Morning Calm, shares her poem

Poet Ms. Jee Eun-kyung holds a Ph.D. in Literature and is a literary critic. She is the General President of Monthly Magazine Sinmunye and an advising member of The Federation of Artistic & Cultural Organizations of Korea, Sejong City branch. She began her literary career with the publication of Self-Portrait at the 56th Bo Tree Poetry Recital in 1987. Over the years, she has received numerous accolades, including the Hwangjni Literature Grand Prize and the World Peace & Culture Prize.

Publications: The Collections of Poems, A Person of Love, and 14 other poetry books; Criticism, Stream of Consciousness and Resolutions for the Contradictions; Columns, Have you know it, Our Self-Portraits and others; Traveling Essays India, the Country for Meditations and 30 other collections of essays.

My Hometown

I don’t know where my hometown is.

I think I heard it’s a mountain.

Or I remember it’s a sea.

I was born as grass flower.

So I learned about roots at a mountain

And I learned about the sky at sea.

Every year

Countless grass flowers bloom

And sing a song of peace.

If you ask me again where my hometown is,

I’ll answer it’s Republic of Korea, or it’s a

Global village.

Any place where flowers bloom is my hometown.

[Translator: Woo Hyeong-sook]

***

내 고향은요

난, 고향이 어딘지 모릅니다

산이라 들은 것 같기도 하고

바다라 기억되기도 합니다

풀꽃으로 태어난 나는

산에서 뿌리를 배우고

바다에서 하늘을 배웠습니다

해마다 수많은 풀꽃들은

꽃을 피워내며

민주주의를 노래 부릅니다

고향이 어디냐고 또 물으신다면

내 고향은 대한민국이요 지구촌이요

꽃 피울 수 있는 곳은 모두 고향입니다

_______________

Read: Mask – Poetry from Korea