The Book Of Korean Shijo

The Korean genre known as shijo is short song lyrics. Originally meant to be sung rather than recited, these short poems are light, personal, and very often conversational. The language is simple, direct, and devoid of elaboration or ornamentation. The shijo poet gives a firsthand account of his personal experience of life and emotion: the rise and fall of dynasties, friendship, love, parting, the pleasures of wine, the beauty and transience of life, the inexorable advance of old age. In this anthology of translations of 612 shijo, Kevin O'Rourke introduces the English reader to this venerable and witty style of verse. The anthology covers the entire range of shijo production from the tenth century to the modern era.

In this comprehensive treatment of the poetry of Shilla and Koryo, O Rourke divides one hundred fifty poems into five sections: Early Songs, Shilla hanshi, Shilla hyangga, Koryo kayo, and Koryo hanshi and shijo. Only a few pre-Shilla poems are extant; O Rourke features all five. All fourteen extant Shilla hyangga are included. Seventeen major Koryo kayo are featured; only a few short, incantatory pieces that defied translation were excluded. Fourteen of the fewer than twenty Koryo shijo with claims to authenticity are presented. From the vast number of extant hanshi, O Rourke selected poems with the most intrinsic merit and universal appeal.

This anthology presents well over a hundred Korean classical poems known as shijo, in English translation. Shijo, a form of poetic composition still very much alive, has a tradition spanning a thousand years. One of the first historical anthologies of shijo in English, this book offers an overview of that uniquely Korean poetic legacy. Composed in the vernacular and written down in hang l, the Korean phonograms, shijo asserts its national identity, which hanshi, composed in the classical Chinese ideograms, ostensibly may not. Sung-Il Lee's English rendition of shijo captures the rhythmic flow of the original lines in Korean, while remaining true to the sound quality and the poetic message contained therein. Although the book is meant for the general readers, students of Korean language and literature will find it helpful, as it provides parallel texts-the Korean original and its English rendition. About the translator: Sung-Il Lee was born in 1943 in Seoul, Korea. He studied English literature at Yonsei University (B.A., 1967), the University of California at Davis (M.A., 1973) and Texas Tech University (Ph.D., 1980), and taught at Yonsei University (1981-2008). He also taught as a visiting professor at the University of Toronto (1987), the University of Washington (1994 1995), and Troy University (2002 2003). He is now Professor Emeritus at Yonsei University. His publication includes The Wind and the Waves: Four Modern Korean Poets (1989), The Moonlit Pond: Korean Classical Poems in Chinese (1998), The Brush and the Sword: Kasa, Korean Classical Poems in Prose (2009), Blue Stallion: Poems of Yu Chi-whan (2011) and Beowulf and Four Related Old English Poems: A Verse Translation with Explanatory Notes (2010). He received the Republic of Korea Literary Award (1990) and the Korean Literature Translation Award (1999), both given by the Korean Culture and Arts Foundation.

Herein are the classics of Korean poetry called sijo. Illustrated and narrated are twenty of the poetic favorites, a collection on the contemplations on nature and the reflections of the heart, mind, and soul within.

Herein are the classics of Korean poetry called sijo. Illustrated and narrated are twenty of the poetic favorites, a collection of the contemplations about life and words of wisdom from of old.

All Koreans enjoy sijos as a beloved form of poetry. But if look beyond the sprinkling of words, You'll find stories of bygone history. Love Korea? You do? Then you HAVE TO dip your foot into the world of sijo! Have you heard of it? Pronounced as shijo, it is a form of poetry that has been loved through the generations. If you could believe it, it is almost eight hundred years old, a precious artifact by historical standards! However, a sijo can never be encased inside a glass exhibit. Eloquent in its archaic ways, the words still speak out loud and clear, its message still poignant and stirring. Its soft musicality and the beauty of a bygone way of expression still captures the hearts of the Korean people. If you love Korea, do try a taste of sijo, especially the classical ones called the gosijo. Mind you. In all appearances and on first take, the poetry may seem light and airy, but chew on it, and you'll discover layer upon layer of meaning and the thread of emotions running deeper still. Sijos may be short, but they speak volumes with regards to Korean history and the frame of mind of the respected literati of the land. Miss Anna wrote this book with a singular audience in mind-people all over the world who are aspiring to learn Korean, children included. Hence, she has poured in all her creative energy to make classical sijo, also called goshijo, more accessible to language learners. You will find in this book: 1. Vivid illustrations with captions in Korean. 2. A simple pronunciation guide for each word for the everyday English-speaking people (not the McCune-Reischauer transliteration nor the common Romanization of Korean geared more for language experts and the linguists). Note that some sounds cannot be accurately transcribed and taught through a book. Therefore, to get the correct nuance of the Korean letters, please consult a native speaker of Korean. 3. The most accurate sense of words and meaning of the words (and groups of words) in English. 4. Definition of words and groups of words in modern Korean for native speakers of Korean as a way to refresh their understanding of the sijo. 5. The thematic undertone of each poem. 6. Miss Anna's version of the sijo in English. (In all cases, the inherent music and the overall rhythm of a language are forever lost in translation. Hence, she focused on providing the most accurate sense and meaning behind each sijo on behalf of the poets.) 7. A short story behind each poem and the poet. This narrative does much to provide a much fuller and a richer understanding of the poem. As the reader gets acquainted with the historical backdrop behind each piece, he/she will perceive its underlying emotions as well. This book presents twenty classical favorites! Placed in chronological order, the poems mark the chaotic end of the Kingdom of Goryeo and the turbulent beginnings of the Kingdom of Joseon. Political affairs were the main subject of the early sijo as the poets in the land were all men of high standing. Unquestionably, the poems are heavy with thought as men struggled to live up to the virtues of loyalty and honor all the while trying to define where their loyalties lie. The poems are the deep reflections of men who cannot but wrestle through their hour in history. Be transported over to the time when loyalty to the king was upheld as the paramount virtue of the land. Buy the book! Discover the poems of great men who had carried themselves with honor during that turbulent time in Korean history. Discover sijo at its heroic best!