Ko Un

Ko Un is a South Korean poet, Buddhist monk, and activist whose extensive poetry includes the epic sequence Ten Thousand Lives. His work draws on personal experience, Korean history, and Buddhist thought.

Connect

Ten Thousand Lives: A long poetic sequence by Ko Un that portrays people he encountered or learned about across Korean history. This multivolume sequence is his best-known work and a central achievement of his career.
Jogye Order: The largest order of Korean Seon Buddhism, with roots in the country’s medieval Buddhist tradition. Ko Un entered this order as a monk before leaving monastic life.
Kevin O’Rourke: An Irish-born scholar and translator who translated modern Korean poetry into English. His translations helped introduce Ko Un’s poems to English-language readers.
Kim Chi-ha: A South Korean poet and playwright known for political satire and resistance to authoritarian rule. His sharply satirical protest poetry offers a different mode of dissent from Ko Un’s broad human portraiture.
Maninbo: The Korean title of Ko Un’s poetic sequence commonly translated as Ten Thousand Lives. The Korean title identifies the work through which Ko Un sought to remember lives across generations.
Seon Buddhism: A Korean Buddhist tradition emphasizing meditation and direct insight, related to Chinese Chan and Japanese Zen. His monastic years placed his early formation within Korea’s meditation-centered Buddhist tradition.
Brother Anthony of Taizé: A British-born scholar, translator, and member of the Taizé Community who translated Korean literature into English. His translations brought Ko Un’s poetry and prose to a wider international audience.
Hwang Sok-yong: A South Korean novelist whose fiction addresses war, migration, labor, and political repression. His historical fiction provides a narrative counterpart to Ko Un’s poetic treatment of Korean lives.
Korean War: A war fought from 1950 to 1953 between North Korea and South Korea, involving major international forces. Ko Un’s wartime experiences shaped the violence and loss recurring in his writing.
April Revolution: A 1960 South Korean uprising that forced President Syngman Rhee from power. The uprising coincided with Ko Un’s departure from the monastery and return to public life.