The Fisherman's Calendar by Yun Sondo - HTML preview

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POEM IN VULGAR LANGUAGE (Ŏnmun)




The temple was hosting a poetry gathering of monks and scholars. The uninvited Kim Sakkat arrived in the evening and asked for food. The poetasters made fun of the beggar, asking him to compose a poem in the vernacular using “tha” (translated below as ‘all’) as rhyming character. Kim Sakkat obliged, confounding them with his skill. The monks recognized Kim Sakkat. He didn’t complete the poem. A modern poet, Chŏng Kongch’ae, suggested “You can all go to hell!” for the final line.



Red pillars all around;

a traveler arrives in the setting sun: all hungry.

Your temple record for generosity is all dire;

You can all go to hell!