Study on the Spirituality of Modern Korean Ecopoetry
-with the poetry of Lee Seongseon and Go Jinha

Jang Yeonghui

Department of Korean Language & Literature,
Graduate school, Pusan National University

Abstract

Ecological crisis the humankind faces today is not anymore insignificant. Wrecking havoc with nature and changes in the ecosystem reached to the extent which should not be overlooked. To the human being environmental and ecological problem is not the matter of choice but the matter of existence. Whether mankind will perish or survive on the earth depends mainly upon the matter.
Nowadays, it is not difficult to see numerous controversial issues on environment and ecosystem. There are two measures to confront or overcome this ecological crisis. One is to depend on the technologies and the other is to focus on the humanity. Some people expect, with the development of science, cutting-edge technology will lead to weathering through the abject ecological catastrophe.
The countermeasure, however, insisted by people who believe the almighty technology principle can not be a fundamental solution due to its clear limitation in application. Thus it can be concluded that technology alone can not break the current ecological impasse.
Reasonable-minded people say that humanity-oriented measures are more important in coping with the ecological crisis and only the restoration of humanistic way of thinking will save the earth. Ecological literature currently take the lead in bringing out the solutions while many theories have been developed and applied to the reality in terms of humanity-oriented efforts in several fields. This thesis aims to reconfigure the significance of ecopoetry which is one of the axes of genuine life movement at a time when the cognition on nature has newly been brought to senses.
There are two major views on the cause of the crisis. Majority sees ecological environmental crisis as the result of civilization aroused by excessive human desire. Some others see the lack of spirituality or the loss of spirituality caused the problem. Both could invite many people hearing to them but I believe the letter is more fundamental diagnosis.
With Consideration on essence and distinctive features of the ecopoetry, there is no doubt that pursuit of spirituality is the root solution to ecological problem. In the most ecopoetry, poets lodge a complaint against with a directly mentioning or criticize the reality. Yet, ecopoetry shows different features from previous other ecopoetry, pursuing spirituality.
This thesis aims to study on the spirituality of Lee Seongseon, Go Jinha’s ecopoetry among modern Korean literature. The poets markedly pursue the spirituality matter in their ecopoetry.
In II, not only general concept of spirituality but also Oriental and Christian spirituality will be discussed thoroughly. The theories on the concept of spirituality will be classified through the detailed inspection.
Oriental spirituality is shown in Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Because each spiritualities is usually revealed in the form of a fusion into one I inspected Buddhism and Zen together without them in the divided categories. Next part is consisted of common points and different features of eastern and western spiritualities followed by Christian spirituality. Lastly an inspection about Korean spirituality will be briefly mentioned.
In III, Oriental spirituality and ecological cogitation will de discussed based on Lee Seongseon’s poetry. The chapter is divided into three parts. They are Buddhist spirituality and ecological cogitation, Zen spirituality and ecological cogitation, Taoist spirituality and ecological cogitation.
In III-1, Buddhist spirituality and ecological cogitation will be discussed. Equality and harmony based on Hwa-Om philosophy are well featured in Lee’s poetry. And pratitya-samutpada theory and symbiotic philosophy are also well embodied. These philosophies are fully connected to ecological perspective of world view and also related to a physicist, Jang hoeik's global life philosophy.
In III-2, Zen spirituality and ecological cogitation will be discussed. The visage of meeting the Absolute and enlightenment and realization appears in the poetry. Lee Seongseon has pursued Zen spirituality since his early life as an ecopoet and his first behavior of following after Zen spirituality is meeting the Absolute. Meeting the Absolute normally results in attaining enlightenment. Many of his poetry came from EomWoo's Enlightenment Theory and the writer reveals keen interest in realization and Zen world. But he could not reach the final stage of enlightenment. Lee's poetry either pursues static space and time or is set by the same background. In those frame of space and time the poet seeks after Zen spirituality and goes through various mysterious experiences.
In III-3, Taoist spirituality and ecological cogitation will be discussed. Numerous Lee's poets head for the heavens and portray transcendental cogitation. The visage of seeking spirituality through unceasing pray and an act of voiding himself can be found. Lee follows after a state of perfect self-effacement to attain enlightenment.
Hwa-Om philosophy and pratitya-samutpada theory and Zen and Taoism are vast and profound. The image of spirituality in Lee's poetry has features of Hwa-Om philosophy, pratitya-samutpada theory and Zen and Taoism. These are deeply co-related to ecological cogitation. If the diagnosis on the cause of the ecological crisis is different the counter plan needs to be different accordingly. By pursuing the spirituality, Lee comes up with more fundamental solution, not skimming the surface of the problem or suggesting the treatment that works only on the exterior. The Lee's poetry is worth owing to broadening the horizon of the ecopoetry.
In IV, Christian spirituality and ecological cogitation will be discussed. And the chapter is divided into three parts. Christianity awareness of life and ecological cogitation, theoretical awareness and ecological cogitation, and plural perspective on world view ecological cogitation.
In the first part, the image of restoration of spirituality will be discussed in two ways taking Go Jinha’s poetry for instance. One is criticism on civilization and the other is a pursuit of life.
In the second part, the poet, Go sets up the holy shrines in the various places on the earth, harboring pantheism in heart. Cosmic fraternal love is portrayed based on divine grace.
In the third chapter, Go pursues co-prosperity based on religious pluralism. He breaks down a wall among the religions by pursuing religious pluralism and holds the cosmic awareness on life in mind which stemmed from an organic world view.
Ecological world view is the awareness insisting human and nature should co-exist. Go Jinha’s the same ecological view based on pantheism and religious pluralism. The poet believes that this can be an alternative to the solution on the current ecological crisis. Based on the discussions so far we found that Lee and Go, not like other poets, write ecopoetry which pursues the spirituality apart from direct criticism or lodging a complaint against the contaminated reality. They see the restoration of spirituality as the only appropriate remedy.
With the inspection of modern Korean ecopoetry in terms of Oriental and Christian spirituality, this thesis is credited to the finding of spirituality in the modern Korean ecopoetry and the current status of Korean literature in coping with ecological catastrophe through fundamental measures.

한국 현대 생태시의 영성 연구
-이성선, 고진하 시를 중심으로

국어국문학과 현대문학 전공 장영희

이 연구는 이성선, 고진하의 시에 나타난 영성을 조명하고, 그들이 지은 생태시에 들어 있는 영성 지향의 모습과 생태 사유와의 관계를 밝히는 데 있다.
이 연구에서 논의된 내용을 요약하면 다음과 같다.
제Ⅱ장에서는 본격적인 논의를 위한 예비적 고찰로써 일반적으로 쓰이고 있는 영성의 개념뿐만 아니라 동양적 영성과 기독교적 영성의 개념에 대해 깊이 있게 다루었다.
제Ⅲ장에서는 이성선의 시를 중심으로 동양적 영성과 생태적 사유에 대해 살펴보았다.
첫째, 불교적 영성과 생태적 사유에 대해서 살폈는데, 이성선의 시에는 화엄사상을 바탕으로 한 평등사상과 어울림의 사상, 연기론을 바탕으로 한 상생의 사상이 잘 구현되어 있었다. 이러한 사상은 근본적으로 온생명 사상과도 연관이 있었고, 생태적 사유와 연결되어 있었다.
둘째, 선적 영성과 생태적 사유에 대해서 살폈는데, 선사상을 중심으로 하여 절대자를 추구하고 깨달음을 얻는 모습이 구현되어 있었다. 또한 이성선의 시에는 대부분 정적인 시공간이 설정되어 있거나 추구하고, 향유享有하고 있었다. 이 시공간에서 선적 영성을 추구고 신비적 체험을 하고 있었다.
셋째, 도가적 영성과 생태적 사유에 대해서 살폈는데, 이성선의 시에는 천상 지향과 초월적 사유를 하는 시가 많았다. 그리고 끊임없는 기도와 자기무화를 통하여 영성을 추구하는 모습도 찾아낼 수 있었다.
제Ⅳ장에서는 고진하의 시를 중심으로 기독교적 영성과 생태적 사유에 대해 살펴보았다.
첫째, 기독교적 생명의식과 생태적 사유에 대해서 영성을 회복하는 모습을 문명 비판과 생명의 추구로 나누어서 살펴보았는데, 고진하 시에는 문명에 대한 비판적 태도가 두드러지다는 것을 알았다. 그는 영성의 회복을 위해 분명하게 반문명적인 태도를 취하고 있었고 생명을 추구하고 있었다.
둘째, 신학적 인식과 생태적 사유를 살펴보았는데, 그는 만유재신론을 바탕으로 모든 삶의 공간에 성소를 설정하고 있었고, 일반은총을 통한 우주론적 형제애가 구현되어 있었다.
셋째, 다원주의적 세계관과 생태적 사유를 살펴보았는데, 종교다원주의를 바탕으로 한 공존을 지향하고 있었고, 유기체적 세계관과 우주적 생명의식을 지니고 있었다.
지금까지 논의를 바탕으로 이성선과 고진하의 생태시에서 영성을 추구하는 모습이 드러났다. 이들은 한국 현대 생태시에서 여타의 생태시인들과는 달리 오염된 현실에 대한 직접적인 고발과 비판 대신 영성의 추구를 통해 생태 문제를 해결하려는 생태시를 쓰고 있었다. 이들은 영성의 회복과 환원만이 치유의 올바른 대안이라고 보고 있었다.
지금까지 논의를 통해, 현대 생태시에서 영성을 밝혀냈다는 점과 영성의 회복과 환원을 추구하면서 생태적 위기에 근본적인 방식으로 대응하고 있다는 점을 밝힌 것이 이 연구의 중요한 성과라고 할 수 있다.