Poem by Geum-Hee Yang (prepared Angela Kosta)
Moderator 
POEM BY GEUM-HEE YANG (SOUTH KOREA)
Poetess Ms. Yang Geum-Hee was born in 1967 in Jeju, Korea. She has published two poetry collections, "Happiness Account" and "Ieodo, Island of Legend and Existence," as well as one collection of essays titled "Happy Companion." She was the first president of the Ieodo Literature Association, the editor-in-chief of Jejuin News, and worked as a research fellow at the Society of Ieodo Research. She served as a researcher at the Jeju Sea Grant Center at Jeju National University and as a specially appointed professor at Jeju International University.
Currently, she is an editorial writer for the New Jeju Ilbo, a special researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences of Jeju National University, vice-president of the Jeju Regional Committee of the Korean PEN Center, an executive of the Jeju Institute for Korean Unification, and an executive of the Korean Association of Ethics. She is also the president of the Korean Associations of World Literature. She has won eight literary awards.
Her poetry has been translated into various languages and introduced in the United States, China, Japan, Germany, Russia, Italy, Spain, England, Taiwan, Nepal, Egypt, Greece, Pakistan, Vietnam, Albania, Bangladesh, Kosovo, Tajikistan, and more.
A RIVER, IT IS
Our memories
were a river
Sadness passing by
Pain flowing away
Joy streaming along
A river, it is
If our sadness
our pain
and even our joy
piled up like fallen leaves in a lake,
the clear water would decay
Water flows
purifying old emotions
brushing past fallen leaves and branches
a clear heart following the water’s path
Somewhere, my river
that has flowed like this
and your river will someday
form a great river
To let the upright belief flow clear,
we must open the waterway
So that a pure river can flow
강물이라네
우리의 추억은
강물이었지
슬픔이 지나간
아픔이 흘러간
기쁨이 흘러가는
강물이라네
우리의 슬픔이
우리의 아픔이
기쁨마저도 낙엽처럼 쌓이는 호수라면
맑은 물도 썩어가겠지
물이 흘러
묵은 감정 정화하며
떨어진 나뭇잎과 나뭇가지들을 스쳐
물길을 따라 흐르는 맑은 마음
어디에선가 그렇게 흘러온
나의 강물과
너의 강물이 언젠가
큰 강을 이루기에
올곧은 신념이 맑게 흐르도록
물길을 열어두어야 하리
그리하여 청순한 강물이 흐를 수 있게
Prepared Angela Kosta Executive Director of MIRIADE Magazine, Academic, journalist, writer, poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, translator, promoter
