Hwang, Tong-gyu 1938-

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Hwang, Tong-gyu 1938-

PERSONAL:

Born 1938, in Seoul, South Korea. Education: Seoul National University, degree in English; Dongguk University, graduate degree; also studied at Edinburgh University and University of Iowa.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Department of English Language and Literature, College of Humanities, Seoul National University, San 56-7, Sillim 9-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, Korea 151-742.

CAREER:

Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea, became professor in English department, 1968—. Has also taught at New York University, 1987, and at the International Creative Writing Program at the University of Iowa.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Hyundai Munhak commendation, 1958; Hyundai Munhak Literary Prize, 1968; Korean Literature Prize, 1980; Yonam Literary Award, 1988; Kim Jong-sam Literary Award, 1991; Isan Literature Prize, 1991; Midang Literature Prize, 2001; Daesan Literary Award; Hyeondae Literary Award.

WRITINGS:

Kyoul norae: Hwang Tong-gyu sanmunjip, Chisik Sanopsa (Seoul, South Korea), 1979.

Hwang Tong-gyu sisun: Yorha ilgi, Chisik Sanopsa (Seoul, South Korea), 1982.

Pungjang, Nanam (Seoul, South Korea), 1984.

Hyondae Yong-Misi yongu, 1986.

Agorul chosim harago: Hwang Tong-gyu sijip, 1986.

Kyondilsu opsi kabyoun chonjaedul: Hwang Tong-gyu sisun, 1988.

Hae chinun tchok uro kago sipta: Pak Chong-man siso Nanam (Seoul, South Korea), 1989.

Momurura kudae nun kutorok arumdapta: Hanguk chisong 50-in ui chajonjok umak kobaengnok, 1991.

Molundae haeng: Hwang Tong-gyu sijip, Munhak kwa Chisongsa (Seoul, South Korea), 1991.

Kege, Chongha (Seoul, South Korea), 1991.

Miriryong kun param: Hwang Tong-gyu sijip, Munhak kwa Chisongsa (Seoul, South Korea), 1993.

Hwang Tong-gyu si chonjip, Munhak kwa Chisongsa (Seoul, South Korea), 1998.

Bokulli pung ui sarang norae, Munhak kwa Chisongsa (Seoul, South Korea), 2000.

Si ka taeonanun chari, Munhak Tongne (Seoul, South Korea), 2001.

Strong Winds at Michi Pass (poems), translated by Dennis Maloney and Seong-Kon Kim, White Pine (Buffalo, NY), 2001.

Author of other poetry and prose collections, beginning 1961.

SIDELIGHTS:

An award-winning and highly respected Korean poet, Hwang Tong-gyu also writes prose but is best known for his verses. These have evolved steadily over the decades, since he first began publishing in the 1960s. From his early works of that decade, which have a strong interiority to them, to his middle period in which he was concerned with political and social issues in his country, and to his more recent poems about metaphysical topics, death, and the joy in life's simple things, Hwang has produced a much-lauded oeuvre. Becoming more preoccupied by Buddhist and Taoist philosophies, his reflective poems of recent years have attempted to address life from a broader, more spiritual perspective. In an English translation of one collection, Strong Winds at Michi Pass, for example, Hwang has taken all his previous poetic experiences and tied them together, also revealing some of the poet's humor. Unfortunately, according to Edgar C. Knowlton, Jr., in World Literature Today, the collection is marred by typos, "spelling errors and inconsistencies."