On days when life feels too hollow, he secretly dreams
Of going alone to Geumhwa, leaning on the scent of home,
Singing a song to the taste of makgeolli.
Ms. Bok-sun Chung, a poetess from Korea, the Land of Morning Calm, shares her poetry
Poet Bok-sun Chung, a native of Jeonju in North Jeolla Province, made her literary debut in 1988 through the literary magazine Sidae Munhak. She has published a total of eight poetry collections, including If a Paper Airplane Flies to Me, Journey of the Heart, and Psalms of Yeo-yu-dang. In addition, she has released the poetry anthology Youth Has Written Its Name and Gone, the bilingual Korean-English collection Sand Relief, and a critical essay collection titled The Poetic Adventures of Homo Nomad. She is a Vice President of the Korean Association of World Literature.
He Is the Blue Balloon Flower
Since he came down south on his mother’s back at the age of four,
He has lived forgetting even the scent of his hometown.
After drifting briefly to Geoje Island, then to Incheon,
He grew up in Seoul—so perhaps he is a Seoulite,
And yet, his whole life has been that of a wanderer!
Chuweuiri, Wonbukmyeon, Geumhwagun, Gangwondo
Torn apart by the DMZ, now untraceable even on internet maps.
On days when life feels too hollow, he secretly dreams
Of going alone to Geumhwa, leaning on the scent of home,
Singing a song to the taste of makgeolli.
But neither drink nor song goes down smoothly—both get caught.
His bloodline, who lost their family register,
Have become legends, departed to seek their native soil
Without even a proper ancestral rite.
Even the name “Geumhwa” is now buried only
In Kimhwa-eup, Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon-do.
A lifetime of wandering—that is the blue balloon flower.
***
그는 푸른 도라지꽃
그는 푸른 도라지꽃네 살 때 엄마 등에 업혀 남으로 내려온 이래
그는 고향 냄새도 잊은 채 살아왔다
거제도로 인천으로 잠시 떠돌다가 서울에서 성장했으므로
그냥 서울사람이겠다, 그래도 한평생이 떠돌이였다!
강원도 금화군 원북면 추의리,
DMZ로 찢겨 인터넷 지도에서도 못 찾겠다
삶이 너무 허방인 날은 아무도 몰래 혼자 금화로 가서
고향냄새에 등 기대고 막걸리 맛 노래라도 부르고 싶지만
술도 노래도 술술 안 넘어가고 걸려버리는 곳,
본적을 잃은 혈육들은 설화가 되어
차례도 없이 흙의 본적지를 찾아 떠나갔고
금화라는 지명도 강원도 철원군 김화읍에만 묻어 있다
떠돌이 한평생이 저 푸른 도라지꽃이다
________________
Read: Small moments, great happiness – A Poem from the Jeju Island
