Korean Poetry's Unique Characteristics Explored by Italian Scholar
Creatrip Team
a year ago
Maurizio Riotto, an Italian scholar who has studied Korean literature since the 1980s, highlights the unique characteristics of Korean poetry. Unlike Western poetry that aims to create, Korean poetry seeks to find reality within nature. Riotto, who is deeply interested in Korea due to its cultural connections between China and Japan, sees similarities with his hometown Sicily in terms of spicy food and warm-hearted people. He discusses the challenges of translating Korean literature, particularly the genre of 'hyangga'—a style of traditional Korean poetry. A specific 'sijo' (a traditional Korean poetic form) by Songgang Jeong Cheol captures the Buddhist sentiment of detachment from the world perfectly, offering insight into Korean aesthetic philosophy.
