Han Yong-un
1879–1944
Biography
Han Yong-un (1879–1944) was a Korean Buddhist monk and reformer, poet, novelist and independence activist. He was born in Hongseong, in South Chungcheong province, and as a boy studied the Chinese classics at a traditional village school. From 1896 he lived in seclusion at Baekdam temple, where he read Buddhist scriptures and modern philosophy, and in 1905 he received the robes of the Jogye Order. His religious name, Yong-un, was given to him that year by his meditation teacher. Manhae was his art name, and his birth name was Han Yu-cheon.
In 1913 he published a work calling for the reform of Korean Buddhism, arguing that the monastic tradition had to face the modern world. He signed the Korean Declaration of Independence in 1919, served a three-year prison sentence, and afterwards toured the country giving lectures to young people. He is best known as a poet. His collection Nim-ui Chimmuk (Love's Silence, 1926) is counted among the great works of modern Korean poetry, and in its love poems, longing for a beloved also carries a longing for the nation. He was also a novelist in the 1930s, and he is ranked among the most important modern Korean poets.
Two of his novels are on this site under their Korean titles: 박명 (Misfortune) and 후회(後悔) (Regret). Both come from the 1930s, when he was writing long fiction alongside his poems and his work for independence.
This biography was written by a language model. The sources below are where to check it; treat details with care.
Books
박명
by 한용운
A girl born in a village on the upper reaches of the Han, below the Seorak mountains, grows into a woman whose beauty and poverty steer her into one hard fate after another. Han Yong-un, the monk and poet, wrote this serial novel as a story of a woman's suffering and endurance.…
Summary written by Claude Sonnet 5.5.후회(後悔)
by 한용운
On an autumn morning a young woman named Gyeong-sun, sewing at home, is visited by Chang-su, and the two begin a relation that each will later regret. Han Yong-un's short novel is a moral tale of love, haste and its consequences.
Summary written by Claude Sonnet 5.5.