Han Yong-un

1879 –
1944
Read poems by this poet

Han Yong-un (한용운, 韓龍雲), also known by his pen name “Manhae,” meaning “ten thousand seas,” was born Han Yu-cheon on August 29, 1879, to a farming family in Hongseong, South Chungcheong Province, Korea. A Buddhist monk, poet, and critic of the Japanese colonial rule of Korea, which lasted from 1910 to 1945, he began his education studying Chinese classics at a seodang, that is, private village schools that acted as elementary schools for boys during the Joseon Dynasty. In 1897, Han joined a Buddhist community at Oseam Temple studying Buddhist sacred texts and Eastern philosophy and furthered his Buddhist education in Japan.

In 1913, Han published Chosŏ Pulgyo yusin non [Treatise on the Reformation of Joseon Buddhism] which declared his belief in the potential for Buddhism to intersect with principles of activism rooted in equality, self-discovery, and progress. In 1918, Han founded Yusim, the first Buddhist magazine in Korea. The periodical aimed to engage and inspire youth and included the publication of Han’s debut essay, “A Hard-Working Student” [Gohaksaeng].

Han was one of the thirty-three leaders of the March First Movement in 1919, which proclaimed Korean independence from imperial Japan and assisted in drafting the Korean “Declaration of Independence” for the movement. For being one of the signatories, Han was imprisoned by the Japanese until 1922. While in prison he wrote Joseondoglibui seo [Reasons for the Independence of Joseon]. After being released, he began a nationwide lecture tour to foster youth engagement in the student movement.

Han wrote over one hundred Chinese poems, thirty-two sijo  poetic compositions, and five novels, but his most popular work was a collection of poems published in 1926 by Hoedong Seogwan Publishers, titled Nim ŭi chimmuk [The Silence of the Beloved], which equated erotic desire with the desire for the motherland. In 2007, he was listed by the Korean Poets’ Association among the ten most important modern Korean poets.

Han died in Seongbuk-dong, Seoul, on June 29, 1944.