Lee Dong-ju Poetry Monument (Ganggangsullae)

Lee Dong-ju Poetry Monument (Ganggangsullae), a "Ganggangsullae" monument in the Daeheungsa Temple parking lot

The poetry monument stands in the Daeheungsa Temple parking lot, engraved with Lee Dong-ju's signature poem 'Ganggangsullae' in Seo Hui-hwan's calligraphy. The poem strings together words such as schools of sweetfish, a lunar halo and a ribboned hat. The house where the poet was born is in Eupho-ri, Hyeonsan-myeon.

Lee Dong-ju Poetry Monument (Ganggangsullae), the work of poet Lee Dong-ju from Eupho-ri, Hyeonsan-myeon

Lee Dong-ju (1920–1979) was born in Eupho-ri, Hyeonsan-myeon, and his pen name was Simho. He began publishing poems in Jogwang in 1940. In 1950, on Seo Jeong-ju's recommendation, he made his formal debut by publishing 'Twilight', 'New Bride' and 'Wedding Night' in Munye. He left the poetry collections 'Wedding Night' (1951) and 'Ganggangsullae', and the selected collections 'Sanjo' (1979) and 'Collected Poems of Lee Dong-ju' (1987). He died on January 28, 1979.

Lee Dong-ju Poetry Monument (Ganggangsullae), the poet's youth of working his way through school after his family's decline

His family was wealthy, with 5,000 seok of rice, and his grandfather and his grandfather's eldest brother served as vice ministers. But the family fortune declined sharply when he was about eleven or twelve. He grew up at his mother's family home in Gongju and graduated from Gongju Higher Common School in 1937. In 1940 he entered Hyehwa College and paid his tuition with manual labor and other work, but he had to quit his studies because of forced conscription under Japanese rule. After liberation, he published the 4-poet anthology 'Four Friends' in Mokpo and worked as the Mokpo correspondent of the Honam Sinmun.

Source: Haenam County Culture and Tourism