You may remember, unable to forget:
yet live a lifetime, remember or forget,
For you will have a day when you will come to forget.
You may remember, unable to forget:
Let your years flow by, remember or forget,
For once in a while, you will forget.
On the other hand it may be:
‘How could you forget
What you can never forget?’
Translated by Brother Anthony of Taizé who was born in Cornwall in 1942, He has been living in Korea since 1980, teaching English literature in Sogang University (Seoul), where he is now an Emeritus Professor. He is also a Chair-Professor at Dankook University, and is currently serving as President of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch. He has published over thirty volumes of English translations of Korean literature, mostly poetry, including works by Ku Sang, Ko Un, Ch’on Sang-Pyong, So Chong-Ju, Shin Kyong-Nim, Yi Si-Young, Kim Yeong-Nang, Kim Seung-Hee, Kim Kwang-Kyu. He took Korean citizenship in 1994 and An Sonjae is his official Korean name. He received the Korean government’s Award of Merit, Jade Crown class, in October 2008 for his work in promoting knowledge of Korean literature in the world.
GULMARU KOREA 