“After a long time has passed / Those flocks of birds shall shoulder me somewhere, / Beyond the dark times, even in sunlight, to that steep weeping shore / I know they shall take me” (“Saettedeuregeroui Mangmyeong” [“Exile to Flocks of Birds”], Saettedeuregeroui Mangmyeong [Exile to Flocks of Birds]. Moonji Publishing co., Ltd., 1991)
Jang Seoknam is a poet known for lyric poetry that blends postmodern and traditional sensibilities.
1. Life
Born on Deokjeok Island, Incheon, in 1965, Jang Seoknam earned his bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing from the Seoul Institute of the Arts and his PhD in Korean Language and Literature from Inha University. He won the Kyunghyang Shinmun New Year’s Literary Contest in 1987 with his poem “Maenballo Geotgi” (“Walking in Barefoot”), marking his literary debut. After his first collection Saettedeuregeroui Mangmyeong (Exile to Flocks of Birds) (1991), he has built his own independent poetic world, consistently publishing poetry collections. He has been a professor of Creative Writing at Hanyang Women’s University since 2003.
2. Writing
Those that vanish, faint existences, wounds, and memories are important themes in Jang’s works, where he renders the underlying loneliness and desolation through language. He initially focused on portraying inner sorrow and changes in existence but gradually turned toward the outside world and began building a new poetic world grounded in reality and neglected lives.
His first poetry collection, Saettedeuregeroui Mangmyeong (Exile to Flocks of Birds), published in 1991, comprises poems in which the pure yet solitary and sorrowful inner self that sustains human life is transformed into compressed imagery. In particular, nature, including birds, the moon, wind, stars, and flowers, symbolizes a wandering and drifting inner self. In his subsequent collection, Jigeumeun Gansinhi Amudo Geuripji Aneul Muryeop (Now a Moment When I Barely Miss Anyone), he gives physical form to wounds, loneliness, memories, and longing—all without clear boundaries—and through this, he attempts to understand the contradictory and distorted reality of life.
In his collection, Ppyame Seojjogeul Binnaeda (The West Glows on the Cheek), published in 2010, he builds a different world through his distinctive, beautiful poetic language, blending it with a contemplative outlook on life. He chooses to write about everyday life rather than employing ornate language or exploring special themes. In Goyoneun Domanggaji Marara (Stillness, Do Not Run Away) (2012), he presents a world shaped by void and silence through the speaker’s calm perspective, while in Kkot Balbeul Ireul Geunsimhada (Worrying Over Stepping on Flowers) (2017), he raises ontological questions about the origin of humanity through a deeper lens.
Reference
Poetry Collections
Saettedeuregeroui Mangmyeong (Exile to Flocks of Birds). Moonji Publishing co., Ltd., 1991
Gansinhi Amudo Geuripji Aneul Muryeop (Now a Moment When I Barely Miss Anyone). Moonji Publishing co., Ltd., 1995
Jeojeun Nun (Damp Eyes). Sol, 1998
Oenjjok Gaseum Araekkee On Tongjeung (Pain in the Lower Left Chest). Changbi Publishers, Inc., 2001
Misoneun, Eodiro Gasiryeoneunga (Smile, Where Do You Suppose You Go?). Moonji Publishing co., Ltd., 2005
Ppyame Seojjogeul Binnaeda (The West Glows on the Cheek). Changbi Publishers, Inc., 2010
Goyoneun Domanggaji Marara (Stillness, Do Not Run Away). Munhakdongne Publishing Corp., 2012
Paran Dot (Blue Sail). Lyric Poetry & Poetics, 2012
Kkotbateul Baraboneun Il (Gazing at a Flowerbed). Poet Thought, 2013
Kkot Balbeul Ireul Geunsimhada (Worrying Over Stepping on Flowers). Changbi Publishers, Inc., 2017
Sarangi Neoege Haedabeul Gajyeoda Jul Geosida (Love Will Give You the Answer). Maumsup, 2019
Illustrated Poetry Collections
Byeorui Gamok (Prison of Stars). Sagonggu, 1993
Essays
Murui Jeonggeojang (Water Station). Ire, 2000
Mul Ginneun Sori (The Sound of Drawing Water). Haeto, 2008
Siui Jeonggeojang (Poetry Station). Nanda, 2015
Murui Jeonggeojang (Water Station). Nanda, 2015
Saranghaneun Geoseun Modu Meolli Itda (Everything We Love is Far Away). Maumsup, 2021
LTI Korea 
DLKL 
SIWF 
