Hwang Gyu-gwan's Poetry Collection 'Let's Just Let This Ride Pass' Wins Baekseok Literary Award

Revealing Daily Life Unfiltered and Conveying Positive Energy
"Showing a Level of Korean Realism Poetry"

Publishing house Changbi announced on the 11th that the winner of the 22nd Baekseok Literary Award is poet Hwang Gyugwan for his poetry collection Let’s Just Let This Bus Go. The judging panel explained the reason for the award, stating, “It demonstrates a certain level of Korean realism poetry while widely opening the reality our poetry must stand on and its vast horizon.”

Let’s Just Let This Bus Go is Hwang’s sixth poetry collection. It reveals everyday life without filtering and conveys a positive energy. The driving force is the totality of close emotions. For example, in the poem titled the same as the collection, Let’s Just Let This Bus Go, the missed bus is described as simply letting it go. It exudes a nuance of indifference and regains composure.

“Let’s just let this bus go / There is too much laughter / The carriage is full of language that cannot offer even a single leaf without song / Let’s turn our backs on this bus / Adventure is not a dry form, but my body makes your pulse cold / This bus is not mine / The destination is too clear.”

In the author’s note, Hwang wrote, “I often feel the modern human spirit turning into a desert. You may call me a humble naturalist if you like.” He added, “Humans are nothing more than makeshift structures built by other beings, yet they stubbornly insist they have evolved independently. Even today, I quietly imagine the shape of my soul while watching the flowing stream.”

Hwang was born in 1968 in Jeonju, Jeonbuk. He debuted in 1993 by winning the Jeon Tae-il Literary Award with poems written while working at a steel mill. He has been active in groups such as the Guro Workers’ Literature Association and has published works including Cheolsan-dong Post Office, Water Goes Its Way, Defeat Is My Strength, and Noon Is Coming.

The Baekseok Literary Award was established in 1997 to honor the literary spirit of poet Baekseok (白石). The prize money is 20 million won.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.