Jang Seoknam


Jang Seoknam is a South Korean poet.

Life

Jang Seoknam was born on August 3, 1965 in Incheon Metropolitan City, South Korea. Jang earned an undergraduate degree in creative writing from the Seoul Institute of the Arts and a Ph.D. from the Inha University Graduate School of Literature. Since 2003 he has worked in two different positions as an Assistant Professor at Hanyang Women's University. Jang debuted as a poet in his early 20s in a New Year's Writers Contest sponsored by the magazine Kyunghyang Shinmun.

Work

LIST Magazine characterizes Jang's work as, " the stature of a leading poet of lyricism with the purity of memory and an acute sense of language," and The Korea Literature Translation Institute summarizes his work:
Jang's major poetry collections include Defecting to a Flock of Birds ; Now, doing my best to long for no one ; Teary Eye ; Pain in my heart ; Where do Smiles Go? ; Brighten the West on the Cheek ; Tranquility, Do Not Run Away, and Worry about Stepping on a Flower.
For his literary accomplishments, Jang has been awarded Kim Suyeong Literary Award in 1992, Hyeondae Literary Award in 1999, Midang Literature Prize in 2010, Kim Daljin Literary Award in 2012, Sanghwa Poetry Award in 2013, Jihun Literary Award in 2018, Pyeonun Literary Award in 2018, and Woohyun Art Prize in 2018.
Jang has not had any works in translation published formally, but noted translator of Korean poetry, Brother Anthony of Taizé has translated three of Jang's poems on his home page. These three poems are: Winter Pond; Hanging Plum-Blossom, and; I Turn off the Light. Since May 2018, American poet and Nursing Decision Scientist are collaborating on a translation of selected poems and prose for publication.
Jang participated in the 2018 as one of the 9 invited Korean poets.

Works in Korean (Partial)

Poetry Collections