koreanlit1-6, Exercise 2: Han Yong-un or Kim Sowol (both given)

Model answer:

Han Yong-un (1879 to 1944): Buddhist reformer, poet and independence activist; signed the 1919 Declaration of Independence and was imprisoned about three years (acquitted 1922). Main work: Nim-ui Chimmuk (1926), "his most significant and enduring literary achievement", mixing nationalism and romantic love. Readings: the article says "love for his country plainly appears under the guise of longing for the loved one" but does not discuss the ambiguity of nim; that is the article's reading, not a documented statement by the poet.

Kim Sowol (1902 to 1934): poet in the style of traditional folk songs; The Azaleas (1925) was his only collection in his lifetime, mostly written while he was a teenager. His teacher Kim Eok wrote that "the poet's true genius lay in composing lines in the rhythm of Korean folk song". Readings of the title poem: a woman speaking to a lover who may leave (the surface); cultural resistance to Japanese rule; a coded anticipation of Japan's departure; and David McCann's argument for reading it on its own terms.

Sources: Wikipedia, Han Yong-un; Kim Sowol.