Chajak Namu Supgil Eso: A Book of Poetry with Paintings
July 2023
Soonguk Kim has written an inspirational book of poetry, turning the poet’s life challenges into creative poetry and watercolor paintings of nature, flowers, trees with special features and history of the Jeju Island.
A mother of two sons, a registered nurse, and the wife of a surgeon, Soonguk was faced with declining eyesight while taking daily walks with her seriously ill son. She tried to describe in short poetry form the lovely wildflowers on the roadside and the trees, people and village scenes related to nature's history. Her son loved her poems and used to ask her, “Mommy, make me poems, your words are so beautiful.”
As her son’s illness became terminal, she felt devastated. Poetry was the only way she could think of giving him the love and support in his final days. “My son was then my first and only fan” she writes.
The author formed a poetry club in the Cheong where her husband served as a resident doctor in a retirement community. She disciplined herself to write and paint regularly. In her conclusion she acknowledges the poetry club and writes, “I am grateful to be able to say in twilight of my life, that life was truly worth living despite adversity.”
Dr. Hesung Koh received and treasured a number of Soonguk’s earlier pieces of poetry and paintings. It is a coincidence that Soonguk Kim and Dr. Adeuk Im, both of whom sent us news from Jeju, were vice president and president respectively of the Jeju chapter of the International Professional Businesswoman (BPW) group. In 1979. Dr .Hesung Chun Koh met them when she was invited to speak at their meeting in Jeju following a meeting of the Tokyo chapter of Home Economics in Business.
Soonguk Kim born in Jeju in 1954
Graduated from Jeju Women's High school and Seoul Womens College of Nursing
2009 <Jeju Weekly News> Ground Hundred Days Jangwon ( Darangshi Village Sun Tree)
2018 first collection of poems, "Sparkling On the Opposite"
2019 Publication of the poetry collection " The Book of Nodes in the Backyard“
Young Sijo Literature Society
