Home / Quotes / Quote by Kim Hyesoon

Quote by Kim Hyesoon

“Women are foils to men in South Korea. It is hard for women to take a lead role even in NGOs for political resistance. Men think women should do trivial things on the margins. They think women should be merely a seasoning for a dish. I feel anger and sorrow seeing this.”

Quote by Kim Hyesoon

Author

Kim Hyesoon, born in 1955, is an author whose identity and profession are unknown. Her life story, achievements, and contributions are currently limited in available information, and her impact and evaluation are not yet clear. more

You May Also Like

“When anger and sorrow overflow, sometimes it becomes poetry.”

Sometimes Sorrow Overflow

Author:Kim Hyesoon

“I have to reach "the poetry condition" to write. Then it is as if the border around me is thinned or blurred or erased or disappeared or dead.”

Ifs Writing Conditions Borders

Author:Kim Hyesoon

“Women who have been disappeared by violence are howling. The voices of disappeared women are echoing. I sing with these voices.”

Has Beens Voice Violence

Author:Kim Hyesoon

“When I first started to write poetry, I used to feel as if my tongue would go numb.”

Ifs Feels Writing Firsts Used Tongue Numb

Author:Kim Hyesoon

“Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear and no concept of the odds against them.”

“Women in Korean myths disappear after giving birth. The reason they were born is to produce sons.”

Giving Reason Born Produce Son Birth Myth Disappear Korean Giving Birth

Author:Kim Hyesoon

“I did not have any role model. I could not learn anything from the female voice that male poets used, a voice which is more "feminine" than female. Nor could I learn anything from ancient female poetry that only sang about love, the feeling of farewell and longing for others.”

Feelings Used Voice Roles Poet Models Female Longing Males Ancient Feminine Role Models Farewell Female Voice

Author:Kim Hyesoon

“When I became a poet, the Korean literary world expected women poets to sing passively of love. Naturally, this was not written anywhere, but this rule existed nonetheless. Consequently, I received plenty of serious criticism.”

World Written Serious Poet Criticism Expected Plenty Korean

Author:Kim Hyesoon

“My tough and grotesque images were thrown on the roads and were stepped on by my critics, and I was talked about with scorn. I felt regret that readers only seemed to like something they were accustomed to.”

Felt Regret Reader Tough Critics Thrown Accustomed Scorn Like Something Grotesque

Author:Kim Hyesoon

“Speaking as an outsider is the most authentic voice for a poet. Poets who have one hundred thousand or one million readers [as many South Korean poets do] might not be a real, authentic poet.”

Real Might Voice Millions Poet Reader Thousand Hundred South Outsiders Korean

Author:Kim Hyesoon