A philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard, defined a poet as “an unhappy man who hides deep anguish in his heart, but whose lips are so formed that when sigh and cry pass through them, it sounds like lovely music.” Whether poets are happy or unhappy might be an issue to talk over; the words of a poet—poems—are one of the finest forms of expressing diverse and complex human emotions with such concise words and expressions. Korea University (KU) also has one of these masters of words and emotions, Choi Dong Ho (’66, Korean Language and Literature).

▲ Choi is telling his life story to the reporter. Photographed by Chang Hae Sun.

Choi became interested in poetry when he was a sophomore in high school. One day in autumn his teacher designated one student and made him recite the poem “The Silence of Love” by a renowned poet, Han Yong Un. The recital made a deep impression on his mind, and that finally gave rise to his yearning to write a poem. Embracing the dream of becoming a poet, he entered KU where a famous poet Cho Chi-hun was teaching students and became one of the last students who listened to his lecture .

Studying under Cho was an invaluable experience, but Choi had another precious experience in KU’s reading and discussion club, Hobakhoe. “I still remember the discussion I heard in my very second semester of school,” Choi reminisced. “At that time, universities were full of slogans emphasizing the importance of action, and KU was not an exception. Yet, other club members and I tried to convey the importance of contemplation and reading books through the club.”

Because he retired and was granted the title of honorary professor on August 31, his office is no longer on campus; but his poems out there right beside all KU students are another way to meet him. Through his career, he wrote six poetic works and 60 other books. Reading his poem is definitely the fastest way to meet him.

For many students, however, poems are considered beautiful but difficult things to understand. “That is because people try to interpret the poem as they did in their school exams, but what is in the core of a poem is emotion,” said Choi. “When I told foreigners the feelings connoted in my poems, they said ‘I understand such feelings, and I have felt them.’ Likewise, what one needs while reading a poem is to be faithful to one’s emotion.”

His attitude toward reading poems is also reflected in his poetry. Choi said, “I believe being honest about one’s feeling and putting these feelings into one’s words are the right ways of writing poetry,” revealing his poetics. He admitted that there are also some good poems even though their messages are buried in ideologies; or, at the other extreme, their form is abstruse due to excessive preoccupation with self-consciousness. “Yet when one looks carefully, he or she discovers that even in those extreme poems, there are emotional touches that move people’s minds,” Choi added.

▲ Professor Choi and the students of his poetry composition class. Provided by kgnews.co.kr

In line with his views toward poetry, he has been focused on showing his emotions through his lyric poetry and also helping others to do so. He opened a poetry composition class from last November. A diverse range of people such as university students, a retired school principal, businessmen, and market merchants are gathered in his class. “Koreans have a lot of desire for expressing themselves, but they are unaccustomed to doing so; therefore, they are unskilled in expressing themselves,” Choi commented. By donating his talent for composing a poem, he is now giving these people an outlet.

Asked to share some of his teachings in these classes, Choi emphasized the importance of seeing things in a new way. In other words, one needs to demonstrate creativity. “If you are not watching things from new angles, your work will only result in tautology—a repetition of the same word,” said Choi. “Also, a poet should not fear failure.” Explaining a poem as the most economical way of expressing oneself, he emphasized the pleasure of constant exertion, “Writing poems gets harder and harder as I keep writing. I think, however, therein lies the charm of composing a poem.”

▲ One of Choi’s poetic works, Ice Face.Provided by amazon.com

Lastly, he gave a piece of advice to KU students. “I strongly recommend students to read lots of books. The books that people read in their early twenties become the fertilizer of their land of thoughts, and enable you to make far-seeing and profound judgment,” Choi said. “People who are able to see beyond the horizon change the world, and the book becomes their driving forces just as the fuel of a spaceship propels it into outer space.”