March 1st Movement Day, Imagining Yun Dong-ju at Gwangyang Mangdeok Port

Remembering the Spirit of Poetry and Friendship Resisting Japanese Rule at Jeong Byeong-uk's House That Revived Poet Yun Dong-ju

Escaping Surveillance Under the Floor Jar, Yet Leaving Behind the Posthumous Work 'Sky, Wind, Stars, and Poetry'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seonsik] Gwangyang City, Jeollanam-do, announced that in celebration of the upcoming 103rd anniversary of the March 1st Movement, it encourages people to visit the Jeong Byeonguk House in Mangdeok Port and deeply engrave the poetic spirit of the national poet Yun Dongju, who resisted Japanese colonial rule.

In Mangdeok Port, Jinwol-myeon, Gwangyang City, there is an old house that preserved Yun Dongju’s handwritten poetry collection "Sky, Wind, Stars, and Poetry," written with pure poetic language aimed at the heart of Japanese imperialism, reflecting his anguish over the tragedy of Japanese invasion.

Registered as Cultural Heritage No. 341 under the name "Jeong Byeonguk House Preserving Yun Dongju’s Manuscripts," this house holds a noble and heartrending story born from the tragedy of a lost nation.

In 1941, Yun Dongju, dreaming of publishing a poetry collection to commemorate his graduation from Yeonhui College, personally bound three copies of 19 poems he wrote by hand under the title "Sky, Wind, Stars, and Poetry," and gave them to his mentor Lee Yangha and his cherished junior Jeong Byeonguk.

Unfortunately, due to the circumstances of the time, the poetry collection was never published. Yun Dongju, imprisoned on charges of independence activism while studying in Japan, passed away on February 16, 1945, in the cold Fukuoka Prison, just six months before liberation.

After Yun Dongju’s arrest, Jeong Byeonguk, who was conscripted as a student soldier, entrusted Yun’s handwritten poetry collection to his mother in Gwangyang. His mother carefully wrapped the collection in a silk cloth and hid it in a jar under the floor of their house to avoid strict surveillance.

While the manuscripts held by Yun Dongju and Professor Lee Yangha were lost, the manuscripts that survived in Jeong Byeonguk’s house in Mangdeok Port were published post-liberation on January 30, 1948, as a posthumous collection, summoning Yun Dongju as a poet.

Mangdeok Port, embracing the Seomjin River that has traveled 550 ri with open arms, is a space of resurrection that embraced Yun Dongju, who was never called a poet during his lifetime and ended his life in a cold prison far from home, rebirthing him as a poet.

Walking along the port from Jeong Byeonguk’s house, one can reach the "Yun Dongju Rest Area" and the "Yun Dongju Poetry Garden," where 31 poetry monuments are erected, tracing Yun Dongju’s footsteps.

Born in Bukgando, Yun Dongju never set foot on Gwangyang soil, but this place is another hometown that cherished and preserved his poetry, which sublimated the pain of the era.

The "Star Counting Bridge," named after one of his poems, connects the Baedo Island Garden and Mangdeok Port by a newly opened sea footbridge last year, symbolizing Yun Dongju’s significant and noble presence in Gwangyang.

On March 1st, commemorating the noble spirit of national independence, it is meaningful to honor Yun Dongju, a reflective poet who wished to live without shame under the sky until his dying day and who agonized even over the wind rustling the leaves.

Jeong Byeonguk, who treasured preserving and sharing Yun Dongju’s poetry as his lifelong pride and joy, took the pen name "Baekyeong (白影)," meaning "White Shadow," from Yun’s poem "White Shadow," reflecting the spirit of their friendship.

Kim Seongsu, Director of Tourism, said, "Although Yun Dongju ended his short life in the cold prison of Fukuoka, here in Gwangyang he is reborn as a poet, singing of an eternal star that never sets."

He added, "We hope people take meaningful time to stroll through the ‘Yun Dongju Poetry Garden,’ where 31 poems from Yun Dongju’s posthumous collection are beautifully engraved, and the ‘Star Counting Bridge,’ imagining Yun Dongju under the blue sky of Mangdeok Port."

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seonsik hss79@asiae.co.kr

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