Does Spring Come Also to These Ravished Fields?

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This is a bilingual (Korean-English) poetry collection, a dual-language edtion, translated into English by Insoo Lee and with an introduction by Sung-Il Lee. Yi Sang-hwa (1901‒1943) was a forerunner of modern Korean poetry. But he was also a cultural intermediary, for his works incorporated the imagery of Western poetry, especially the symbolism and the sensuality observable in it, entailing nihilistic mood and tone, which characterized it during the age preceding his birth and growth as a poet. His poetry, however, was not only the product of one who merely indulged in the trend of Western poetry preceding his growth as a poet. The pessimistic view of life intensified by the bleak conditions of the nation is one of the traits of his poetry. But the intellectual sinew and strong verbal resonance felt all along his lines make him a poet that transcends the zeitgeist and the decadence and nihilism of the Western poets who preceded him. ―From the translator’s Introduction