Korean Poet Jung Myung Seok’s New Book Appreciation Event - Full Review
Art Catches the Korean Trend - “Woman of Poetry” - A Readable, Singable Poetry Collection

April 11, 2017

Sung Tao Kuo

On April 8, 2017, Ming-Ren Publishing hosted a lively book appreciation event for Woman of Poetry entitled “Poems Surpassing Exasperation, Despair, and Hope” at the Eslite Spectrum SongYan Store. Contrary to most appreciation events, Pastor Jung Myung Seok used both his poet and composer identities to create poetry that not only could be recited, but also sung.Through classical musicians and live performances by singers, Eslite SongYan’s scholarly afternoon event was filled with light orchestral rhythms and touching vocals. The book appreciation event became a fully packed, refined, and elegant art literature banquet!

Taiwan and Korean art literature critics were invited to the Woman of Poetry Book Appreciation Event to share explanations for the poetry. Korean art historian Mingyen Wang comments,  “The author mentions ‘Through my poems I leave behind many of my conversations with God.’ In the poem called “Beloved,” Pastor Jung writes in the form of King Solomon's dialogue with his lover. In “Awaiting 2,” the author awaits for God’s truth and gospel to spread across the world, but as his youth passes by, anxious desperation grew because the gospel did not spread wide enough as expected. “Bold” is a painting of a snail who turns around and confronts a stork, reflecting that only by boldly facing your destiny, will you have a chance to reverse the reality. Rather than poems of despair and exasperation, the poet expressed poems of hope. Andy Tsai, expert in East Asian Confucianism, comments, “Poet Jung Myung Seok relates with what ancient people say, ‘Ancient poems are not perfunctory, nor redundant.’ Poetry is a real record of life’s memorable experiences. The poet was born in the post World War II era of desolation, in the aftermath of cold-hearted war, and personally participated twice in the Vietnam war himself. Through his poem “Go and Love!” you can see that under the influence of Christian faith, Poet Jung Myung Seok deepened his desire for peace in the midst of war, and practiced the great love of Christ.

South Korea's Prize-winning literary critic, Ms.Guang Hung comments, “Poet Jung Myung Seok’s poems do not merely dwell at a personal level, but reaches the level of God’s historical Will, as he has lived through life for the greater purpose. His poems sing and play out the flow of life. He does not feel that both “pain” and “happiness” are conflicting concepts, but rather they are the fortune amidst a snowstorm, the masterpiece after a struggle, the sweetness where bitterness ends, and the resurrection after sacrifice. After being published in Korea in 2013, Korean poet Jung Myung Seok’s book, Woman of Poetry, hit #1 for three consecutive months on literature’s best sellers list of South Korea's biggest bookstore "Kyobo Book Centre." On March 21, 2017, the Chinese version of Woman of Poetry finally came on the market in Taiwan. The Taiwan bookstores, including the Eslite Bookstore, Books.com.tw, and Kingstone, enthusiastically welcomed the support of the public for book purchases.

Referenced: CDNEWS