Yu Chi-hwan


Yu Chi-hwan, also known by his pen name Cheongma, was a leading twentieth-century Korean poet.

Life

Yu was born in South Gyeongsang Province. He published at least ten volumes of poetry. The poet collaborated with the occupation forces during Japanese colonial years. In 2005, a plaza with a bust of the poet and five monuments, each inscribed with a poem he wrote, were dedicated at the poet's tomb in Bangha-ri, Dundeok-myon, Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province.
Yu attended Toyoyama Middle School in Japan for four years, then returned to Korea to graduate from Dongrae High School. He entered the Humanities Division of Yonhi College in 1927 but withdrew after a year. In 1937 he managed the coterie journal Physiology. In April 1940 he moved to Manchuria. He returned to Korea in June 1946, at which time he established the Tongyeong Cultural Association and joined several other groups as well and served in the army. In 1952 he joined the Poetry and Poetics circle in Daegu, and in 1955 he oversaw the publication of Green Barley, a journal produced by a circle of Gyeongsangnam-do writers. In 1957, he founded the Society of Korean Poets.
His awards include the Seoul Culture Award, Korean Academy of the Arts Distinguished Service Award, and Busan Culture Award. He died on February 13, 1967.

Work

The Korea Literature Translation Institute describes Yu:

Works in Translation

Poetry Collections
Assorted