![]() Mark Peterson is professor emeritus of Korean, Asian and Near Eastern languages at Brigham Young University in Utah.Matsuo Bashō is one of the most famous poets of the Edo period and the greatest figure active in Japanese haikai during the latter half of the seventeenth century. Sijo can better tell the story, convey the emotion and express creativity. Sijo is the next step beyond haiku ― both are three lines, haiku is simpler, sijo just a little longer. We hope to see sijo grow in popularity and value to where sijo is as well-established in America as haiku is today. I can look into Emma's eyes, she's still here, on four paws. My aunt passed, stupid cancer, my mom distraught. My new dog, little Emma, a gift to us from the heavens. To jump to the present, here is a poem written by an American high school student, titled "Emma": ![]() My red heart, forever loyal to my King, will never fade away. Though I die, and die again though I die one hundred times,Īfter my bones have turned to dust, whether my soul lives on or not, He was a loyal Confucian scholar-official, who, out of loyalty, could not turn his back on the Goryeo King even though he knew he would die if he refused to join in the coup d'etat. My favorite sijo was written by Jeong Mong-ju who, in 1388, was invited to join in creating a new dynasty at the fall of Goryeo and the founding of Joseon. This is considered a classic by a famous writer, Basho. To illustrate the difference (and since most Korean readers are not familiar with haiku) let me give a few examples. Sijo can be introduced as the "next step" ― a poetic form that comes from Korea, the country next door to Japan, that is also a short form, three-line poem, but which has a format that is just a little longer and adds more variation to what the students learn with the haiku. The study of sijo is a natural partner, from the perspective of the American school, of the Japanese haiku. And the sijo is fuller in its expression and covers more details and emotion. They cover all kinds of topics ― and here is where sijo has a broader appeal, and broader variety of topics, compared to haiku that tend to be limited, not always, but generally, to topics of nature. The winners, first, second and third place, and several honorable mentions, are listed with their poems. The Sejong Cultural Society has a website that records the sijo contest winners over the last 11 years ―. At the outset, most of the applicants were Korean-American, but in recent years Korean-Americans are a small percentage compared with the numbers of non-Korean-Americans that enter the contest. The contest has been held for 11 years and has grown to over 1,000 entrants each year. One key motivation for many schools is the annual sijo contest held online sponsored by the Sejong Cultural Society based in Chicago. There is evidence on YouTube ― several teachers have posted lessons on how they teach sijo in their schools. ![]() There are several schools that are teaching sijo, often as a follow-on to a study of haiku. My desire to see sijo taught in America is not without foundation ― it's starting to happen. That's the way I feel when I think of my desire to see sijo planted as firmly in American education and culture. There is an old Korean saying, "My cousin bought some land and I got a stomachache." The meaning may not be apparent it expresses jealousy ― feeling envy to the point of pain for the success of another. Truly haiku has become a part of American culture. There are numerous books of haiku poetry and countless websites on haiku. As the years went by, I found students were learning haiku earlier and earlier in school ― now they study haiku in the third or fourth grade. Then they would respond that they had learned, and written, haiku in high school. Years ago, when teaching sijo in my university pre-modern literature class, I would ask if students knew haiku. Haiku has become a part of American culture. By study, I mean they have learned the classic forms in translation, they have learned the form is three lines, with syllable counts of five, seven and five per line, and they have been assigned to write their own haiku. On the other hand, every American student in the last 20 or 30 years has studied haiku. ![]() Haiku, the classic short-form style of poetry from Japan, is not well-known in Korea and is not taught in Korean schools. ![]()
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