Cheon Sang-byeong
{{Short description|South Korean writer (1930–1993)}}
{{family name hatnote|Cheon||lang=Korean}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Cheon Sang-byeong
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| birth_date = January 29, 1930
| birth_place = Japan
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1993|04|28|1930|01|29}}
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| language = Korean
| nationality = South Korean
| citizenship = South Korean
| education =
| alma_mater = Seoul National University
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{{Infobox Korean name/auto
|title = Korean name
|hangul = %천상병
|hanja=千祥炳
}}
Cheon Sang-byeong ({{Korean|hangul=천상병}}; January 29, 1930 – April 28, 1993) was a South Korean writer."천상병" biographical PDF available at LTI Korea Library or online at: {{cite web|url=http://klti.or.kr/ke_04_03_011.do# |title=Author Database - Korea Literature Translation Institute |accessdate=2013-09-03 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055413/http://klti.or.kr/ke_04_03_011.do |archivedate=2013-09-21 }}
Life
Cheon Sang-byeong was born in the Empire of Japan on January 29, 1930. He immigrated to Masan, Korea in 1945, after Korea was liberated from Japan."Cheon Sang-byeong" LTI Korea Datasheet available at LTI Korea Library or online at: {{cite web|url=http://klti.or.kr/ke_04_03_011.do# |title=Author Database - Korea Literature Translation Institute |accessdate=2013-09-03 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055413/http://klti.or.kr/ke_04_03_011.do |archivedate=2013-09-21 }} It was then that the 15-year-old Cheon began writing poems in the language of his ancestry. He published his first poem "River Water" while still in school.{{cite book |title=Korean Writers The Poets |publisher=Minumsa Press|chapter=Cheon Sang-byeong |year=2005 |pages=116–17}} Cheon went to Seoul National University for a short period.{{cite book|title=Korean Poetry Today 450 Poems Since the 1920s|chapter=CHon Sangbyong|pages=1248–9–15|author=Jaihiun J. Kim |publisher= Hanshin |location=Seoul|year=1987|asin = B000BNC2DE}} In 1967 he was implicated in the {{Ill|East Berlin Spy Incident|ko|동백림 사건}} and jailed for six months during which he was tortured.{{cite book |title=Korean Writers The Poets |publisher=Minumsa Press|chapter=Cheon Sang-byeong |year=2005 |pages=116–17}} This experience scarred Cheon who became impotent and alcoholic. Found unconscious on the street Cheon was institutionalized and his friends, believing him to be dead, published a posthumous book of his poetry.{{cite book |title=Korean Writers The Poets |publisher=Minumsa Press|chapter=Cheon Sang-byeong |year=2005 |pages=116–17}}
Cheon, however recovered and began a prolific career.
Work
Cheon's poetry was written in a condensed style, and explored themes of existentialism. His most famous poem "Return to Heaven" (Gwicheon), speaks of a man's encounter with the afterlife and his journey from life to death, as a passing from one world to another: "I am returning to heaven, the day on which my sojourn to this beautiful world ends. Go and say it was beautiful"."Cheon Sang-byeong" LTI Korea Datasheet available at LTI Korea Library or online at: {{cite web|url=http://klti.or.kr/ke_04_03_011.do# |title=Author Database - Korea Literature Translation Institute |accessdate=2013-09-03 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055413/http://klti.or.kr/ke_04_03_011.do |archivedate=2013-09-21 }}
Works in translation
- Rumanian: L ÎNTOARCEREA ÎN CER detail ({{Korean|hangul=천상병 시선집|labels=no}})
- Serbian: ПОВРАТАК НА НЕЪО detail (천상병 시선집 <귀천>)
- Spanish: Regreso al cielo detail ({{Korean|hangul=귀천|labels=no}})
- Turkish: Gőğe dőnüş detail ({{Korean|hangul=귀천|labels=no}})
- French: Retour au ciel detail ({{Korean|hangul=천상병시선-귀천|labels=no}})
Works in Korean (Partial)
- Bird (1971)
- At the Roadside Inn (1979)
- If Even the Journey to Afterlife Costs Money (1987)
- I'm Going Back to Heaven (1993)
- Collected Works of Cheon Sang-byeong (1996)
{{cite book |title=Korean Writers The Poets |publisher=Minumsa Press|chapter=Cheon Sang-byeong |year=2005 |pages=116–17}}
References
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External links
- {{in lang|ko}} [http://navercast.naver.com/contents.nhn?rid=123&contents_id=7347&leafId=123 "Cheon Sang-byeong"] - at Naver
- {{in lang|ko}} [https://www.uac.or.kr/newuac/performance/performance_12.php Cheon Sang-byeong Art Festivalofficial]
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Category:20th-century South Korean poets