Goh, Jung-Hee(1948~1991) was born in Haenam. In 1975 she made her debut in Korean literary world on the recommendation of poet Park, Nam-Su. She contributed “Resurrection, Hereafter”, “A Love Song” and others to a magazine “Modern Poetics”. Until she died from her debut, during her short period of writing for about 15 years, she wrote 12 copies of poetry actively, which included her collection of poems and posthumous manuscripts. Also she attracted attention in the world of poetry as showing various and strong experimental attitude through each poems.
Goh, Jung-Hee searched for the possibility of new poetic form steadily as a social and feministic view. And she tried to find the way to carry out women’s liberation through broad searching for the women’s problem on feminism in “Green Grass on the Grave”, “The Expedition for Women’s Liberation” and so on.
Moreover her poems showed much wider self-examination on the social suppression, not being at the category of feminism but heading for the public gradually.
Accordingly in this manuscript I want to observe Goh, Jung-Hee’s unique view of feministic characteristic revealing in her poems and interpret the hidden meaning of them. In this process I want to admit her merit which she achieved in her feministic poems, at the same time, I would be the last to overlook the problems showing in her poetic view. She shed light on female image of Huh, Nanseolheon, Shin, Saimdang and Whang, Jini which was handed down from Korean history in Goh, Jung-Hee’s poetry such as “The Expedition for Women´s Liberation”, “Green Grass on the Grave” and “Everything Disappeared Leaves a Space Behind”. Shin, Saimdang who is thought as a wise mother and good wife was reinterpreted into a woman who denies the images of a wise mother and good wife helping her husband and children silently. Shin, Saimdang in Goh, Jung-Hee’s poems emphasize not obeying female image which was made by patriarchy but agonizing about identity as a woman. Also the image of Whang, Jini who is told by men is restored not a prostitute who is slender, pitiful and is made a jest of by men but rather a courtesan and artist in a gisaeng house who uncovers the noblemen’s face in a noble society and is dreaming about a poetic revolution. She estimated that Huh, Nanseolheon who is remembered as a introverted and gorgeous woman writer is not only an oppressed people in social rank but also a woman who called men’s head an oppressor of feudalism.
In Goh, Jung-Hee’s view, there is a meaning that traditional women uncovered oppressed awareness from women who lived a restraining life in the framework which men made by the name of ‘a wise mother and good wife’ or ‘virtue’.
Goh, Jung-Hee remains her view that women have lived as victims by men in modern society as well. The poet diagnoses woman in history and modern society where the tendency of patriarchy is still prevalent as a figure of an oppressed life. Though this society has been industrialized, equality of sexes or a female-dominated society, male ideology culture which doesn’t follow the progress of civilization denounces that woman is still left as an oppressed being.
However, her projective point is concluded that mother’s accommodative love lets history flow like the river of mother. has a mind to hold men, opens towards the world. Motherhood in Goh, Jung-Hee’s poems is like a desire of a woman to be a complete human. A woman who is victimized by a man can’t be a complete human. Also a woman who exists as man’s distorted view is not a complete being. Therefore when there is a need for a harmonious human holding a man like a man, Goh, Jung-Hee is looking for an ideal type in ‘mother’.
The distortion of another view on traditional woman showing in her poems, indicative explicit verbal expression and complex about the lawful wife come into an important factor in setting limits to her poems. On the other hand, unrefined straight talk, anger unable to sublimate and enforcement of individual value can be contrary to feministic view. These factors can predicate metaphorical meaning which is expressed reluctantly in woman’s situation being accustomed to man’s ideology. However, poems that concentration of only a spectacular and sexual language keeps as a pledge can be compared to ones which contains refined, sublimated language. It is necessary to consider which poem is left afterwards between two kind of poems. And yardsticks of dichotomous logic－opposing men and women, a legal wife and a mistress (gisaeng), and a strong ruler and a weak ruler－can be another violence. That’s because a patriarchal system shows man’s violence on woman and on the contrary woman’s violence on man.
As the view of all feministic conflicts as motherhood and embracing opposition, that is, maternity doesn’t settle contradiction mechanism of oppressing woman. Embracing and enduring everything by the name of ‘mother’ brings about a result of supporting feminism that woman can’t get out of the formula of beautified oppression under the name of mother. The result like this is not to be solved feminism but to be confronted with contradiction of feminism.
Though she got ahead of the feministic poems in 1980’s, these problems in Goh, Jung-Hee’s poems play a stumbling block to cover the world aiming at her poems. The researchers expressed admiration for the study of the feministic meaning appeared in Goh, Jung-Hee’s Poem. However, when we don’t overlook these problems behind it, we can evaluate Goh, Jung-Hee’s poems objectively.
In spite of this argument, Goh, Jung-Hee’s poems in prose and poetry show the world of writing characterized in various views. In 1980’s the realistic and experimental poems was inspired more than lyrical verse. And this period is in atmosphere that the literature couldn’t just disregard historicity and sociality. In this atmosphere, Goh, Jung-Hee showed an experimental peculiarity while tuning up historicity and sociality in the form of shaman ritual for cleaning dead persons soul. Her feminism has an important meaning in inducing the women’s problem in the view of focusing the public or educational problem.
From now on there is a need to illuminate her suggestive position through steady researches because her poems are very valuable enough to be studied many-sidedly in Korean poetic history.