[8] Yeolmu samsip daneul igo 열무 삼십 단을 이고 sijange gan uri eomma 시장에 간 우리 엄마 an osine, 안 오시네, haeneun sideun ji orae 해는 시든 지 오래 naneun chanbapcheoreom bange damgyeo 나는 찬밥처럼 방에 담겨 amuri cheoncheonhi sukjereul haedo 아무리 천천히 숙제를 해도 eomma an osine 엄마 안 오시네 baechuip gateun balsori tabaktabak 배추잎 같은 발소리 타박타박 an deulline, eodupgo museowo 안 들리네, 어둡고 무서워 geumgan chang teumeuro goyohi bitsori 금간 창 틈으로 고요히 밧소리 binbange honja eopdeuryeo huljjeokgeorideon 빈방에 혼자 엎드려 훌쩍거리던 Putting thirty radishes on her head My mother went to the market But she has not returned, It’s been sometime since the sun has set I sit in the room like cold rice I do my homework as slow as I can But she has not returned Those footsteps like napa cabbage, I cannot hear It’s dark and I’m scared Through the crack in the window I hear the faint sound of rain As I sniffle alone, lying face down in the empty room Another source of pain in Ip sog-ui geomeun ip is parting with loved ones.
The poem “Bin Jip” (빈 집 Empty House) begins with the line, “Sarangeul ilko naneun sseune (사랑을 잃고 나는 쓰네 I lost love and now write)”.
And after having made farewells with all these things, the poet finally writes, “Gayeopseun nae sarang bin jibe gatyeonne (가엾은 내 사랑 빈 집에 갇혔네 My poor love is stuck in an empty house).” Just as in “Eomma Geokjeong,” the poet in “Bin Jip” has shut his wounds in a small room and is now looking back in longing.
[8] The poet’s gloom and isolation are deeply related to the atmosphere of oppression and fear that was widespread throughout Korean society in the 1980s, when these poems of Ki Hyongdo’s were written.
[7] The poet for example says, “Geu iri teojyeosseul ttae (그 일이 터졌을 때 When that incident happened),” referring indirectly to some event.
Although the poet never specifically names the event he is referring to, one can infer that this poem is closely related to the political climate of the mid to late 1980s from passages such as “Geuhae yeoreum maneun saramdeuri mudeogiro eopseojyeotgo (그해 여름 많은 사람들이 무더기로 없어졌고 That summer many people disappeared in heaps)” and “Geurigo geu iri teojyeotda, eolma hu geuga jugeotda (그리고 그 일이 터졌다, 얼마 후 그가 죽었다 And that incidence occurred, and he died not long after).”[9] In that violent reality, life was met with fear and death.
[12] There are also those who say that Ki Hyongdo was a sort of “persona” to a generation of youths who experienced the inward gloom of a time when student activism was declining and the possibility of political reform was narrowing.