Two Poems Translated by Suphil Lee Park

Translator’s Notes on “Already Noon”

This poems is a milestone in the history of ancient Korean poetry. While many ancient Korean poems feature farmers or sing about the modest lifestyle of the lower class, they were always written by male aristocrats who had nothing to do with farming and who often romanticized life on the farm, which they considered a mode of abstinence. But Kim Samuidang, a fallen aristocrat, had to work on the farm herself along with the rest of her family. She brought the honest reality and firsthand experience of a farmer’s life-from the perspective of a woman-to the world of Korean poetry.

 

Translator’s Notes on “Wino’s Song”

This kind of poem was recited and written widely by courtesans as a way of making their guests drink. It was highly unusual that a woman from an aristocratic family, though fallen, would write this kind of poem addressing her husband in a playful, suggestive way.

Li Bai, known as Yi Tae-baek in Korea, is a famous Chinese poet who was known for his lyric poetry and for having been a big drinker.