Literature and Poetry from Jeju Island of South Korea
Jeju Island is a cultural and natural tourist attraction with a literary tradition that represents the place's cultural identity. The literature and poetry of Jeju are intriguing documentation of the island, its geography, traditions, and residents’ strengths. Here are a few examples that will show how Jeju contributed to literature.
Man-deok Kim: A Tale of Resilience
The most famous literary personality of Jeju is the story of Man-deok Kim, who was later depicted in the literature. A real-life businesswoman from the Joseon Dynasty, Kim’s benevolence is famous for feeding the starving people of Jeju Island during a famine. Many novels and plays have been written based on her life and the benevolence and endurance she exhibited. In addition to celebrating her achievements, these works briefly examine Jeju’s historical and cultural context (Kim, 2011).
The Poetry from Ki-young Hyun
Among the well-known poets of Jeju is Ki-young Hyun, who wrote poetic works that reveal the history of Jeju and its nature. He focused on the themes of the Jeju Uprising of 1948, which is one of the most important and sorrowful pages in the history of Jeju. Hyun's poems are full of vivid descriptions and emotions; they are the main prerequisites for the preservation of this tragedy in the memory of Jeju’s people (Hyun, 2004).
“The Mermaids of Jeju” by Sumi Hahn
In “The Mermaids of Jeju,” Sumi Hahn has created a very strong book that connects Jeju’s history with mythological lore. The plot revolves around the lives of Haenyeo, Jeju’s extraordinary female divers, in the context of political unrest in the mid-twentieth century. Due to the live and realistic description of the story and Hahn’s appreciation of Jeju culture, this novel can be regarded as a valuable contribution to Jeju literature (Hahn, 2020).
The Folktales of Jeju
Jeju’s diverse folktales are also preserved in the artifacts of its generations of people. Most of these tales involve local gods, spirits, and other beings and teach moral lessons representative of the islanders’ culture. Literature on Jeju folktales compiled in different volumes offers an interesting perspective on Jeju’s sociocultural matrix and its relation to the land (Lee, 2013).
Conclusion
Jeju Island is a culturally rich area, and literature and poetry provide a proper insight into the island's essence. Jeju's Literature and art cover the story of its people, its struggle, its history, and its present, with Man-deok Kim inspiring a generation and Ki-young Hyun’s poems etching a niche in literature.
References
Kim, Soon-Ja. A Geolinguistic Study on the Jeju Dialect. Jeju: Jeju National University, 2011.
Hyun, Ki-young. Sorrows of the Island. Seoul: Jimoondang Publishing, 2004.
Hahn, Sumi. The Mermaids of Jeju. Seattle: Blue Pine Books, 2020.
Lee, Iksop, and S. Robert Ramsey. The Korean Language. SUNY Press, 2013.
