"Sijo" has been the most popular poetic form in Korea for centuries. Like haiku and tanka, its roots are in ancient Chinese verse. To explore this ancient poetic form, the U.S. Embassy organized an English Sijo Writing Contest with 22 Korean high school students who are fluent in English and have a strong understanding of the traditional form. The contest was arranged similarly to that of the state civil service exams given during the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties.
Professor David McCann, director of the Korea Institute at Harvard University and former Peace Corps volunteer to Korea, is judge in Sijo contest
U.S. embassy holds Sijo contest
2010-06-20 16:13
Caption: High school students brainstorm ideas for the U.S. Embassy's English Sijo Writing Contest related to the main theme of "hope." Courtesy of U.S. Embassy
"Sijo" has been the most popular poetic form in Korea for centuries. Like haiku and tanka, its roots are in ancient Chinese verse.
To explore this ancient poetic form, the U.S. Embassy organized an English Sijo Writing Contest with 22 Korean high school students who are fluent in English and have a strong understanding of the traditional form.
The contest was arranged similarly to that of the state civil service exams given during the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties.
Participating students took their place inside the U.S. ambassador's residence sitting on the floor of the main reception area across from the courtyard that houses the traditional pond.
After welcoming remarks by U.S. Ambassador Kathleen Stephens, the rules of the competition were explained to the students followed by the unveiling of a poster with a specific word for the students to use as the topic to compose their sijo.
The famous Obama word "hope" was on the poster.
A "jing" (traditional Korean gong/symbol) was then rung indicating that the students could begin working on their poems.
Exactly one hour later, the bell was rung again to signal the end of the competition.
The judges for the competition include professor David McCann, director of the Korea Institute at Harvard University and former Peace Corps volunteer to Korea, along with famous Korean poet Ko Un, ChungAng University professor Lee Sang-wha, and Seoul National University professor of Korean Literature Kwon Young-min.
The first, second and third place winners were awarded with certificates of accomplishment and the rest were given certificates of participation.
Sijo, unlike other East Asian poetic forms, frequently employs metaphors, symbols, puns, allusions and word plays. Most poets follow these guidelines very closely.
In "The Bamboo Grove: An Introduction to Sijo," Richard Rutt explains that sijo may be narrative or thematic and introduces a situation in line 1, development in line 2, and twist and conclusion in line 3.
"The first half of the final line employs a twist: a surprise of meaning, sound, or other device. Sijo is often more lyrical and personal than other East Asian poetic forms, and the final line can take a profound turn.
"Yet, the conclusion of sijo is seldom epigrammatic or witty. A witty close to a sentence would have been foreign to the genius of stylized Korean diction in the great sijo periods," says Rutt.
By Yoav Cerralbo (yoav@heraldm.com)
