Park Young-geun

Park Young-geun (; September 3, 1958 – May 11, 2006) was a South Korean poet. He was in the front lines of many labor and democratization movements, and he portrays the lives and emotions of these protestors using vivid language in his writing. Park is well-known as the original author of the widely popular protest song from the 1990s, "Pine Tree, Green Pine Tree" .

Biography Pre-debut Park was born in 1958, in Buan County, North Jeolla Province. Because of his parents' enthusiasm for education, Park spent years away from his hometown, graduating from Iksan Middle School and Jeonju Highschool. As a high school student, he was an avid reader of Changbi Magazine, Sasanggye Magazine, and explored the works of Go Un, Hwang Seok-young, Kim Ji Ha and many others. His statements at school on the October Restoration and the made him a person put under surveillance by his school. Deciding that the repressive school life would no longer be necessary, Park eventually withdrew himself from high school. The next year, he joined the high school literary circle and published a passionate poem in the style of Soviet Revolutionary poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. He subsequently faced hardships as he had his home searched and was taken into custody at the police station for 20 days. After this, he went to Seoul to participate in the labor movements and Christian Young Adult movements while continuing to write poems. He officially made his debut as a poet with the publication of poems such as "Suyurieso" (수유리에서 In Suyuri)

After his debut In 1982, while working at a book-binding factory in the Guro Industrial Complex, Park actively engaged with activists in labor movements, student movements, culture movements of the masses, and Christian democracy movements. He participated as one of the leaders for various cultural activities and meetings, and founded the Folk Song Research Association along with Shin Kyeong-nim, Im Jintaek, Jeong Huiseong, Gim Jeonghwan, and others. In 1984, he published a poetry collection, Chwieopgonggopan apeseo (취업공고판 앞에서 In Front of the Job Search Board) and a prose collection, Gongjangoksange olla (공장옥상에 올라 Up on the Factory Rooftop). Afterwards, he relocated to Bupyeong, Incheon until the 1990s living as a laborer and activist, while trying to faithfully reflect the realities of life as a worker in his writings. Furthermore, he participated in producing a video about Bak Jongcheol and worked at various publishing companies as a committee planning member or as an editor for literary magazines. In 1987, Park's poem "Baekje #6 Pine Tree, Green Pine Tree" - from the collection Chwieopgonggopan apeseo was adapted by An Chi-hwan for the song "Pine Tree, Green Pine Tree". "Pine Tree, Green Pine Tree" became a favorite song on college campuses and at labor strikes. Park won the Shin Dongyup Prize in 1994 and the Baeksok Literature Award in 2003. He died of a long-term illness in 2006. and his entire collected work was published in 2016 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of his death.

Writing Poetry collection from the 1980s A major theme in Park's works up until the second half of the 1980s is the everyday life and struggles of the worker. These works are based on Park's own experiences as a worker and the activist. That is, in the 1980s labor was the basic condition for Park to write his poetry. However, as the times changed, Park's poems also changed. Chwieopgonggopan apeseo (1984) discusses the unstable lives for Korean workers in the 70s and 80s. This aspect of Park's poems can be seen as a result of the poet's own past, as he was made to leave his hometown and make his own living in another city.

Works Anthology <솔아 푸른 솔아>, 강 , 2009. / Sora pureun sora (Pine Tree, Green Pine Tree), Gang, 2009 <박영근 전집> 1·2 ,실천문학사, 2016. / Bagyeonggeun jeonjip (Park Young-geun Collection), Silcheonmunhaksa, 2016

Collected works <취업공고판 앞에서>, 청사, 1984 / Chwieopgonggopan apeseo (In Front of the Job Search Board), Cheongsa, 1984 <대열>, 풀빛 , 1987. / Daeyeol (Workers Queue), Pulbit, 1987 <김미순전(傳)>, 실천문학사 , 1993. / Gimmisunjeon (The life of Gim Misun), Silcheonmunhaksa, 1993 < 지금도 그 별은 눈뜨는가> 창비, 1997. / Jigeumdo geu byeoreun nuntteuneunga (Does the Star Open its Eyes Still), Changbi, 1997. <저 꽃이 불편하다>, 창비,2002. / Jeo kkochi bulpyeonhada (That Flower is Uncomfortable), Changbi, 2002 <별자리에 누워 흘러가다>, 창비, 2007. / Byeoljarie nuwo heulleogada (Floating on Constellations), Changbi, 2007

Prose collections <공장 옥상에 올라>, 풀빛 , 1984. / Gongjangoksange olla (Up on the Factory Rooftop), Pulbit, 1984

Essays <오늘, 나는 시의 숲길을 걷는다>, 실천문학사 , 2004. / Oneul, naneun siui supgireul geonneunda (Today, I Walk through the Path in the Poetry Forest), Silcheonmunhaksa, 2004

Works in translation

Awards Shin Dongyup Prize (1994) Baeksok Literature Award (2003)