Do Jong-hwan

Do Jong-hwan[1] (도종환) (born 27 September 1955) is a Korean poet[2] and politician. He is a member of the South Korean National Assembly and former Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

In this Korean name, the family name is Do.

Do Jong-hwan
도종환
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism
In office
16 June 2017 – 3 April 2019
Prime MinisterLee Nak-yeon
Preceded byCho Yoon-sun
Succeeded byPark Yang-woo
Member of the National Assembly
Assumed office
30 May 2016
Preceded byRoh Young-min
ConstituencyHeungdeok District
In office
30 May 2012 – 29 May 2016
ConstituencyProportional representation
Personal details
Born (1955-09-27) 27 September 1955
Cheongju, South Korea
CitizenshipSouth Korean
Political partyDemocratic Party
ReligionRoman Catholic
(Christian name : Yoo Jin-ghil Augustine)
Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationDo Jong-hwan
McCune–ReischauerTo Chong-hwan

Life

Do Jong Hwan was born in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea.[3] He received his undergraduate and graduate education at Chungbuk National University, graduating in 1982 with a Master's in Korean Language and Literature. He became a school teacher and was a part-time poet until his wife died just two years after their marriage. This trauma resulted in his writing You, my hollyhock, a collection of love poems which brought him critical acclaim. After his wife’s death, Do endeavored to embrace his life more fully. With the goal of improving educational standards, he served as the regional director for his teacher’s union, and was also active as a regional leader for an organization promoting democracy. Though he lost his job as a teacher and was even jailed for his activities, he continued to fight for justice and better future for the Korean people.[4]

In the 2012 election he ran at large for the National Assembly under the Democratic Union Party proportional representation and was elected. Among other things he served on the Culture, Sports, Tourism and Broadcasting Communications Committee, and the History Textbook Committee. In 2016 he was re-elected as the member from the reconstituted Heungdeok-gu.

In 2017, he was appointed as the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.[5] In 2020 he was elected as the chair of National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee responsible for scrutinising Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Cultural Heritage Administration and related agencies.[6]

Work

His first poem was published in 1982. But it was in 1986 with You, my hollyhock, written in part as a tribute to his deceased wife who reminded him of hollyhocks, where the poet’s grief at the sudden loss of his love and the intense longing for the happiness he shared with his wife, made him famous. When he turns away “leaving a song by her grave," she follows him home “in the weeping of nameless insects;” when he heads home, "leaving a tear drop upon her grave,” she becomes "the rain that soaks through the core of [his] body." In order to overcome his anguish and despair, the poet embraces the world with a new perspective. Through his suffering, the poet has realized that life must go on even if it is more painful than death.[7]

Since that time Do has also written about the issue of the division of Korea, depicting the difficulties of a single people living in a divided country. In his work Do suggests new possibilities for uniting the two Koreas. He has received a number of Korean literary prizes,[8] including the Baekseok Literary Award in 2011 for From three to five and the Korean Literary Award for Literature in 2012 for Leaning on a tree.[9]

Works in Korean (Partial)
  • In Godumi Village (1985)
  • You, My Hollyhock (1986)
  • You Whom I Love (1988)
  • Who Are You (1993)
  • A Flower Falls in the Village of People (1994)
  • Soft Straight Line (1998)
  • The Root of Sorrow (2002)

Notes and references
  1. This is the preferred Romanization per LTI Korea. "Author Database". LTI Korea. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013.
  2. "도종환" biographical PDF available at: "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Naver Search". Naver. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  4. "도종환 " LTI Korea Datasheet: "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "(Profile) Poet-lawmaker nominated culture minister". Yonhap. 30 May 2017. Archived from the original on 3 June 2017.
  6. "민주당 32년만의 상임위원장 '싹쓸이'…상임위 일제 가동(종합)". 뉴스1 (in Korean). 29 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  7. "도종환 " LTI Korea Datasheet: "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 September 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Do Jong-hwan". Banipal Magazine of Arab Literature. Banipal. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018.
  9. "[서울신문] [제20회 공초문학상] "정계에 발 담근 채 상 받으려니 황송하다"". 서울신문 (in Korean). 26 May 2012. Archived from the original on 20 January 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
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