Tony's Web
Gwichokdo
(귀촉도)
| poem by | Seo Jeong-ju (서정주) | |
|---|---|---|
| year of publication | 1943 | |
| poetry collection | Gwichokdo (귀촉도), 1948 | |
| song performed by | Kim Doo-soo |
| 귀촉도1 | Gwichokdo1 | |
|---|---|---|
| 눈물 아롱아롱 | Beady teardrops blurring eyes | |
| 피리 불고 가신 임의 밟으신 길은 | my loved one left for the west blowing a pipe | |
| 진달래 꽃비 오는 서역 삼만리. | down the azalea-raining thousand miles. | |
| 흰 옷깃 여며 여며 가옵신 임의 | Tightening his white clothes once more he went | |
| 다시 오진 못하는 파촉2 삼만리. | the thousand miles to no man's land2 of no return. | |
| 신이나 삼아 줄걸, 슬픈 사연의 | Should've made him shoes, those hemp mituris3, | |
| 올올이 아로새긴 육날 메투리3. | carving sad stories of love onto the six twines. | |
| 은장도 푸른 날로 이냥 베어서 | Should've cut my hair with my blue blade dagger | |
| 부질 없는 이 머리털 엮어 드릴걸. | and weaved him shoes out of this useless tress. | |
| 초롱에 불빛 지친 밤하늘 | The feeble lamplight fades in the night sky, | |
| 굽이굽이 은핫물 목이 젖은 새. | the bird's throat wet by the winding river of stars. | |
| 차마 아니 솟은 가락 눈이 감겨서 | Her cry no longer soaring and eyelids heavy | |
| 제 피에 취한 새가 귀촉도4 운다. | she cries gwichokdo4 drunken by her own blood. | |
| 그대 하늘 끝 호올로 가신 임아. | O you who went to the far end of heaven alone. | |
| [1] 귀촉도 (歸蜀途): 올빼미 과의 새. 밤에 | [1] gwichokdo (귀촉도, road back to Chok): a bird in the owl family. | |
| 슬피 우는 듯한 소리 때문에 여러 전설과 설화 | It became the subject of legends and folklore owing to its plaintive | |
| 를 낳았다. 귀촉도 전설은 옛 중국 촉나라에서 | sounding call made at night. The legend here is about a king in the | |
| 믿던 신하에 의해 폐위돼 귀양 보내진 뒤 죽어 | ancient Chinese kingdom of Chok (촉), who died in exile imposed | |
| 새가 되어 촉으로 돌아가길 원하며 운다는 왕 | by a subject who betrayed and ousted him, and then became a | |
| 의 이야기로, 촉나라로 돌아 가는 길이란 뜻인 | bird in death, thus creating the legend of a bird crying sadly to go | |
| '귀촉도'의 기원이다. | back to Chok. | |
| [2] 파촉 (巴蜀): 중국의 충칭과 쓰촨성을 아우 | [2] no man's land: original text Pachok (파촉, 巴蜀) is the name of | |
| 르는 지역. 산세가 험하여 동부지방으로부터의 | China's southwestern region comprising Chongching and Sichuan | |
| 접근이 어려워 예로부터 쉽게 가거나 돌아오기 | which was known for difficult-to-access terrains in the old days. | |
| 어려운 곳으로서의 전설이 있다. | It symbolizes a distant and perilous place, i.e. death, in this text. | |
| [3] 육날 메투리: 여섯 개의 삼줄로 짜서 만든 | [3] mituri (미투리): old hemp twine shoe weaved around six primary | |
| 메투리 (미투리(삼으로 만든 신발)의 방언). | twines - hence six twines in the next line. | |
| [4] 귀촉도: 새의 울음 소리를 나타내는 말. | [4] gwichokdo: here it indicates the sound of the bird's cry. That is, | |
| '귀촉도'는 새의 이름인 동시에 어떤 이들은 그 | the bird's name is also onomatopoeic, some people hearing the | |
| 울음 소리를 이 세 마디 소리로 들었다. | cry as this three syllable sound. |
| 귀촉도1 |
|---|
| 눈물 아롱아롱 |
| 피리 불고 가신 임의 밟으신 길은 |
| 진달래 꽃비 오는 서역 삼만리. |
| 흰 옷깃 여며 여며 가옵신 임의 |
| 다시 오진 못하는 파촉2 삼만리. |
| 신이나 삼아 줄걸, 슬픈 사연의 |
| 올올이 아로새긴 육날 메투리3. |
| 은장도 푸른 날로 이냥 베어서 |
| 부질 없는 이 머리털 엮어 드릴걸. |
| 초롱에 불빛 지친 밤하늘 |
| 굽이굽이 은핫물 목이 젖은 새. |
| 차마 아니 솟은 가락 눈이 감겨서 |
| 제 피에 취한 새가 귀촉도4 운다. |
| 그대 하늘 끝 호올로 가신 임아. |
| [1] 귀촉도 (歸蜀途): 올빼미 과의 새. 밤에 |
| 슬피 우는 듯한 소리 때문에 여러 전설과 설화 |
| 를 낳았다. 귀촉도 전설은 옛 중국 촉나라에서 |
| 믿던 신하에 의해 폐위돼 귀양 보내진 뒤 죽어 |
| 새가 되어 촉으로 돌아가길 원하며 운다는 왕 |
| 의 이야기로, 촉나라로 돌아 가는 길이란 뜻인 |
| '귀촉도'의 기원이다. |
| [2] 파촉 (巴蜀): 중국의 충칭과 쓰촨성을 아우 |
| 르는 지역. 산세가 험하여 동부지방으로부터의 |
| 접근이 어려워 예로부터 쉽게 가거나 돌아오기 |
| 어려운 곳으로서의 전설이 있다. |
| [3] 육날 메투리: 여섯 개의 삼줄로 짜서 만든 |
| 메투리 (미투리(삼으로 만든 신발)의 방언). |
| [4] 귀촉도: 새의 울음 소리를 나타내는 말. |
| '귀촉도'는 새의 이름인 동시에 어떤 이들은 그 |
| 울음 소리를 이 세 마디 소리로 들었다. |
| Gwichokdo1 |
|---|
| Beady teardrops blurring eyes |
| my loved one left for the west blowing a pipe |
| down the azalea-raining thousand miles. |
| Tightening his white clothes once more he went |
| the thousand miles to no man's land2 of no return. |
| Should've made him shoes, those hemp mituris3, |
| carving sad stories of love onto the six twines. |
| Should've cut my hair with my blue blade dagger |
| and weaved him shoes out of this useless tress. |
| The feeble lamplight fades in the night sky, |
| the bird's throat wet by the winding river of stars. |
| Her cry no longer soaring and eyelids heavy |
| she cries gwichokdo4 drunken by her own blood. |
| O you who went to the far end of heaven alone. |
| [1] gwichokdo (귀촉도, road back to Chok): a bird in the owl family. |
| It became the subject of legends and folklore owing to its plaintive |
| sounding call made at night. The legend here is about a king in the |
| ancient Chinese kingdom of Chok (촉), who died in exile imposed |
| by a subject who betrayed and ousted him, and then became a |
| bird in death, thus creating the legend of a bird crying sadly to go |
| back to Chok. |
| [2] no man's land: original text Pachok (파촉, 巴蜀) is the name of |
| China's southwestern region comprising Chongching and Sichuan |
| which was known for difficult-to-access terrains in the old days. |
| It symbolizes a distant and perilous place, i.e. death, in this text. |
| [3] mituri (미투리): old hemp twine shoe weaved around six primary |
| twines - hence six twines in the next line. |
| [4] gwichokdo: here it indicates the sound of the bird's cry. That is, |
| the bird's name is also onomatopoeic, some people hearing the |
| cry as this three syllable sound. |
by Kim Doo-soo
photo from http://muncon.net
This work is from Seo Jeong-ju (서정주)'s second poetry collection, also titled Gwichokdo, published in 1948. It describes the sorrow and regret of a woman who lost her loved one, using as a backdrop the folklore of a bird of the eponymous name originating from Chinese history. The emotional intensity this work evokes in the reader's mind attests to the power a poet can have through his words. He touches upon many themes in this work, such as obscure bits of history and folklore, primitive old forms of shoe making and the custom of carrying a dagger, and the deep running sorrow of the eventual parting between loved ones.
Gwichokdo is the name of a bird in the owl family, which is also called by other names such as sojjeok-sae (소쩍새) and jeopdong-sae (접동새) among others, whose sad sounding cry gave rise to appropriately sad legends. Gwichokdo appears to be a more obscure name better known to those familiar with Chinese history and lore. Its background story is about a king of the old kingdom Chok (촉) who was wrongfully ousted and killed and subsequently has become a bird in death and cries with the plaintive sound of gwichokdo (meaning road back to Chok) wanting to go back to his old country. Sojjeok-sae and jeopdong-sae are associated with local lore of a girl who was killed by her father's jealous new wife and has become a bird that wants to see her brothers. This is the subject of Kim So-wol (김소월) 's poem Jeopdong-sae.
The first verse is about how the woman's loved one has left her behind in this world and gone to Pachok (파촉), the land of no return in China symbolizing death. Then in the second verse it shows what goes on in her mind. She is in the thick of regrets, for not making shoes for him by cutting her own hair, which she thinks is now useless. The third verse is the denouement, so to speak, depicting the tragic scene in which the woman and the bird are now one and the same, where she loses her voice and keeps crying at night for her dead loved one as if intoxicated with her own blood. Similar sad stories abound in folklore, but a poetic rendition as tragic and grand as in this work is rare.
