:: SOUTH KOREA :: THEME: Memorable Figures (2nd) :: NOMINAL VALUE: 300 Won :: ISSUE DATE: 9 April 2014 :: STAMP DESIGN: Roh Junghwa |
:: Han Yong-un
Manhae (July 12, 1879 – May 9, 1944) was a twentieth century Korean Buddhist reformer and poet. Manhae was his pen name, his birth name was Han Yu-cheon, but he is universally known by the name he was given by his meditation instructor in 1905, Han Yong-un.
Manhae's poetry dealt with both nationalism and sexual love. One of his more political collections was Nimui Chimmuk (님의 침묵), published in 1926. These works revolve around the ideas of equality and freedom, and helped inspire the tendencies toward passive resistance and non-violence in the Korean independence movement.
In 1913, Han Yongun published Restoration for Joseon's Buddhism (Joseonbulgyo-yusimlon), which criticized the anachronist isolationist policy of Joseon Buddhism and its incongruence with the then contemporary reality. The work sent tremors through the intellectual world. In this work, the author promulgated the principle of equality, self-discovery, the potential for Buddhism for safeguarding the world, and progress. His developments as an activist and thinker resulted from his adherence to these very principles.
In 1918, Han published Whole Mind (Yusim), a work that aimed to enlighten the youth. In the following year, he played an important role in the 3.1. Independence movement with Chae Lin, and he was later taken imprisoned for his involvement, and served a three-year sentence. During his imprisonment, Han composed “Reason of Joseon's Independence” (Joseondoglib-i-yuseo) as a response to prosecutors’ investigation into his political engagement. He was later acquitted in 1922, at which time he began a nationwide lecture tour. The purpose of the tour was to engage and inspire youth, an objective first established in Han’s Whole Mind (Yusim).
In 1926, Han published a collection of poems entitled Silence of My Beloved (Nim-ui Chimmuk), which had been written at Baegdam Temple (Baekdamsa,) in the previous year. This book garnered much attention from literary critics and intellectuals at the time. Despite his many other publications, from Chinese poems and Sijos and the poems including in Whole Mind (Yusim), to novels such as Dark Wind (Heukpung), Regret (Huhoe), Misfortune (Park Myeong), Silence of My Beloved (Nim-ui Chimmuk) remains the poet’s most significant and enduring literary achievement.
:: Lee Yuksa
Yi Won-rok (May 18, 1904 – January 16, 1944), better known by his pen name Lee Yuksa was a Korean poet and independence activist. As one of Korea's most famous poets, he and his works symbolize the spirit of the Korean anti-Japanese resistance of the 1930s and 1940s.
While Lee only wrote approximately forty poems, the fact that they have come to represent the resistance spirit of the Korean people against the Japanese colonial government has made his work famous in Korea. In 1939 Lee published his most famous poem, "Green Grapes" Lee strove to write in the tradition of Korean lyric poetry, among other things writing in Hangul at a time during which this was banned by the Japanese government. Because of Japanese censorship, his writing had to be symbolic and metaphorical, never directly commenting on Japanese colonialism, or the issues that surrounded it. Nevertheless, his meaning was clear to Koreans, and because of this and his lyricism, his work continues to be included in school textbooks in Korea.:: Yun Dongju
Yun Dong-ju (December 30, 1917 – February 16, 1945) was a Korean poet. Known for his writing of lyric poetry as well as resistance poetry, he was born in Longjing, Jilin, China.
Yun’s poetry is notable for the childlike persona of his narrators, a sensitive awareness of a lost hometown, and an unusual scapegoat mentality deriving from a sense of shame at not being able to lead a conscientious life in a period of gloomy social realities. "Life and Death" (Salmgwa jugeum) is representative of the poems dating from 1934 to 1936, his period of literary apprenticeship. It describes the conflict between life and death, or light and darkness, but its poetic framework is more or less crude. From 1937 onwards, however, his poems reveal ruthless introspection and anxiety about the dark realities of the times. The poems of this later period reach a clear literary fruition in terms of their reflection on the inner self and their recognition of nationalist realities, as embodied in the poet's own experiences. In particular, they evince a steely spirit that attempts to overcome anxiety, loneliness, and despair and to surmount contemporary realities through hope and courage.| ISSUE DATE: | 9 April 2014 |
| NOMINAL VALUE: | 300 Won |
| CIRCULATION: | 456 000 |
| THEME: | Memorable Figures (2nd) |
| PRINTER: | Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation |
| PRINTING PROCESS: | Photogravure, six colors |
| PAPER: | self-adhesive |
| DESIGN: | Han Yongun, Lee Yuksa, Yun Dongju |
| STAMP SIZE: | 27.8mm x 37mm |
| KOREA POST PRODUCT NUMBER: | 3054, 3055, 3056 |
Memorable Figures (2nd) - Han Yongun, Lee Yuksa, Yun Dongju
MINT STAMPS
PRODUCT # 3054, 3055, 3056
Memorable Figures (2nd) - Han Yongun, Lee Yuksa, Yun Dongju
STAMP SHEET
