Ko Un's life history is equally remarkable. As a child he very quickly mastered the Chinese classics. In his late teens, marked by his experiences during the Korean War, he became a Buddhist monk and was quickly given a series of important positions. A othervoicespoetry.org/vol11/un/bio.html
Ko Un (real name Ko Un -t’ae) was born in Kunsan, in what is today South Korea, in 1933. His life has been characterised by extreme biographical breaks closely tied to the history of his native country and which also surface in his work. During the Kore www.literaturfestival.com/bios1_3_6_272.html
Note: Yukjabaegi is one of the fundamental Korean folksongs, improvised in a myriad of different ways depending on local or even family traditions. hompi.sogang.ac.kr/anthony/ManinboTen.htm
Today in Sinchon, the North Korean authorities have memorialized this slaughter with burial mounds for the victims. www.thenation.com/doc/20060918/feffer