Winter Sky
(동천)

From the poet's fifth poetry collection, also titled Winter Sky, this work consists of just five short lines expressing a single idea that stands alone, which is a new style showing up among the poet's works in this period.

Heavy in symbolism, the poem tells of the eyebrow of a loved one the narrator takes out from his heart and puts up in the sky after washing it in his thousand dreams, and a fierce bird that sees it in the sky and swerves around respectfully as if it knows what it is. It is a cute allegorical scene that is strikingly beautiful in its uncluttered simplicity.

What does the eyebrow and the bird each symbolize? The eyebrow seems obvious. It is what the narrator cherishes and values in his heart above all else, most likely love, but it could also be other things like beauty or personal aspirations. The bird is not as obvious, but from fierce and the fact it's flying in the winter sky, we can deduce that it is the opposing force to the eyebrow. Since the antagonistic bird swerves not to disturb the eyebrow, the implication must be that it too sees the beauty and honors it. So what the narrator created pouring out his innermost being touched the heart of the otherwise fierce and indifferent bird. It is an idea that reaching out with enough sincerity and devotion will move the other side, sometimes even a fierce one in nature. It goes to the concept of one heart touching another, or 이심전심 (以心傳心), which is a phrase originally from Buddhism but now commonplace. There might be different interpretations, but it seem to me this belief in ultimate beauty and goodness that positively affects others is what Seo wanted to convey to the reader.