Language Korean Alma mater Kyung Hee University Nationality South Korean Name Chung Ho-sung | Ethnicity Korean Role Poet Citizenship South Korean Education Kyung Hee University | |
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Born January 3, 1950 (age 74) ( 1950-01-03 ) | ||
Jeong Ho-seung (This is the author's preferred Romanization per LTI Korea) is a popular South Korean poet.
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Life
Born in South Gyeongsang Province, on 3 January 1950 Jeong grew up in Daegu, and graduated in Korean literature from Kyung Hee University. In that same year he began to contribute to the literary magazine Anti-Poetry and in 1982 he published his first novel, A Memorial Service for the Departed. He was the winner of the Tenth Dong Seo Literary Prize in 1997, also winning the So-Wol Literary Prize
Work
Jeong's themes include societal schisms, poverty and alienation, but his work presents these themes with lyrical grace and innocence that removes any trace of hectoring. Jeong intentionally focuses on suffering in the hope that in despair some hope can be found and that this can become the basis for a more successful future. The poet also depicts the resentment and enmity that stirs in the hearts of farmers and workers whose very roots have been taken from them in a sterile South Korean society, and their attempts to resist and overcome these conditions. He spoke for the masses and took as his poetic duty, praising people for their willful and courageous attitude toward life and helping them believe in their future.
Jeong's style is familiar, as in folk songs or popular ballads, which critics attribute to three things. First, they have the rhythm of songs. Second, his vocabulary is chosen for its emotive nature. Finally, he takes the quotidian live of Koreans and makes them into dramatic stories.