Wikipedia

Cheon Sang-byeong

In this Korean name, the family name is Cheon.

Cheon Sang-byeong (Korean: 천상병; January 29, 1930 – April 28, 1993) was a South Korean writer.[1]

BornCheon Sang-byeong
January 29, 1930
Japan
DiedApril 28, 1993(1993-04-28) (aged 63)
LanguageKorean
NationalitySouth Korean
CitizenshipSouth Korean
Alma materSeoul National University
Korean name
Hangul
천상병
Hanja
千祥炳
Revised RomanizationCheon Sangbyeong
McCune–ReischauerCh'ŏn Sangpyŏng

Life

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Cheon Sang-byeong was born in the Empire of Japan on January 29, 1930. He immigrated to Masan, Korea in 1945, after Korea was liberated from Japan.[2] It was then that the 15-year-old Cheon began writing poems in the language of his ancestry. He published his first poem "River Water" while still in school.[3] Cheon went to Seoul National University for a short period.[4] In 1967 he was implicated in the East Berlin Spy Incident [ko] and jailed for six months during which he was tortured.[5] This experience scarred Cheon who became impotent and alcoholic. Found unconscious on the street Cheon was institutionalized and his friends, believing him to be dead, published a posthumous book of his poetry.[6]

Cheon, however recovered and began a prolific career.

Work

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Cheon's poetry was written in a condensed style, and explored themes of existentialism. His most famous poem "Return to Heaven" (Gwicheon), speaks of a man's encounter with the afterlife and his journey from life to death, as a passing from one world to another: "I am returning to heaven, the day on which my sojourn to this beautiful world ends. Go and say it was beautiful".[7]

Works in translation

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  • Rumanian: L ÎNTOARCEREA ÎN CER detail (천상병 시선집)
  • Serbian: ПОВРАТАК НА НЕЪО detail (천상병 시선집 <귀천>)
  • Spanish: Regreso al cielo detail (귀천)
  • Turkish: Gőğe dőnüş detail (귀천)
  • French: Retour au ciel detail (천상병시선-귀천)

[8]

Works in Korean (Partial)

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  • Bird (1971)
  • At the Roadside Inn (1979)
  • If Even the Journey to Afterlife Costs Money (1987)
  • I'm Going Back to Heaven (1993)
  • Collected Works of Cheon Sang-byeong (1996)

[9]

References

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  1. ^ "천상병" biographical PDF available at LTI Korea Library or online at: "Author Database - Korea Literature Translation Institute". Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
  2. ^ "Cheon Sang-byeong" LTI Korea Datasheet available at LTI Korea Library or online at: "Author Database - Korea Literature Translation Institute". Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
  3. ^ "Cheon Sang-byeong". Korean Writers The Poets. Minumsa Press [ko]. 2005. pp. 116–17.
  4. ^ Jaihiun J. Kim (1987). "CHon Sangbyong". Korean Poetry Today 450 Poems Since the 1920s. Seoul: Hanshin. pp. 1248–9–15. ASIN B000BNC2DE.
  5. ^ "Cheon Sang-byeong". Korean Writers The Poets. Minumsa Press [ko]. 2005. pp. 116–17.
  6. ^ "Cheon Sang-byeong". Korean Writers The Poets. Minumsa Press [ko]. 2005. pp. 116–17.
  7. ^ "Cheon Sang-byeong" LTI Korea Datasheet available at LTI Korea Library or online at: "Author Database - Korea Literature Translation Institute". Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
  8. ^ "Cheon Sang-byeong" LTI Korea Datasheet available at LTI Korea Library or online at: "Author Database - Korea Literature Translation Institute". Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
  9. ^ "Cheon Sang-byeong". Korean Writers The Poets. Minumsa Press [ko]. 2005. pp. 116–17.
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