Gi Hyeong-do

Who is Gi Hyeong-do?

Gi Hyeong-do is one of the most highly recognized names in modern Korean poetry. His poems are a staple in Korean literature textbooks, and his posthumously-published collection of poems The Black Leaf in My Mouth has gone through more than 65 printings in the two decades since his untimely death.

Gi was born the youngest of 8 siblings on Yeonpyeong Island, Gyeonggi Prefecture, Korea. His father hailed from Hwanghae Province in present-day North Korea, which he fled amid the turmoil of the Korean War. His father remained on the island working as a county-level functionary until 1964, when he moved with his family to the peninsular mainland, settling in Soha Village, Gyeonggi Prefecture. While growing up in a shanty town west of Incheon in an area known for its communitees of displaced refugees and evacuees, Gi attended Siheung Elementary School where he proved a top student, his awards for outstanding performance filling up a ramyeon box. Gi's father built the family home and at first made a good living as a farmer. When a promising business deal fell through, however, family fortunes declined and then further worsened with the father's collapse from cerebral palsy in 1969. The family's plot of land had to be sold to pay for the father's medical expenses. Gi's prose poem "Genealogy in Jeopardy-1969" poignantly describes the sombre mood of his homelife during this period. His mother was obliged to work outside the home as a market-seller to feed her family, and the children also had to work.