First Tokyo monument honors poet Yoon Dong-ju

Rikkyo University in Tokyo will honor one of the most prominent resistance poets of the Japanese colonial era, Yoon Dong-ju (1917–1945), with a memorial at the site where he wrote his final work, Easily Written Poem. While Yoon’s alma mater, Doshisha University in Kyoto, and other locations in Kyoto already feature numerous memorials, this will be the first Yoon Dong-ju monument in Tokyo.

On Sept. 25, Rikkyo University announced that it will hold an unveiling ceremony for the memorial on Oct. 11 at its Toshima campus in Tokyo. Rikkyo was the first university Yoon attended when he went to Japan for further studies after graduating from Yonhi College (now Yonsei University) in 1942. He studied in the university’s English literature program for one semester before transferring to Doshisha University.

During his time at Rikkyo, Yoon wrote five notable poems, including Easily Written Poem (June 3, 1942), White Shadow (April 14), and Flowing Street (May 12). Easily Written Poem in particular conveys the quiet suffering of a student who had lost his country, using imagery such as a six-tatami mat room and tuition envelopes.

Yoon sent this poem in Korean to his friend Kang Cheo-jung by letter. Written on stationery featuring Rikkyo’s symbolic lily logo and English name, the letter precisely identifies the time and place of composition. The original is preserved at Yonsei University, while Rikkyo has displayed a copy in its campus memorial hall.

The memorial will be a horizontally oriented rectangle. A photograph of Yoon will occupy the center, flanked on either side by a brief biography and the text of Easily Written Poem in both Korean and Japanese translation. A QR code will allow visitors with a smartphone to access detailed information about the poet’s life and works.

Since 2008, Rikkyo University has held annual memorial services at its campus chapel in February to mark the anniversary of Yoon’s death. Beginning in 2010, it has also offered a monthly international exchange scholarship of 50,000 yen (about 470,000 won) to Korean students in his name.

The installation of the Tokyo memorial is expected to renew interest in Yoon’s existing monuments around Kyoto. A monument was erected at the Doshisha campus in 1995. Another stands at the site of Yoon’s former Kyoto boarding house, now Kyoto University of the Arts. In 2017, a monument was placed along the Uji River near Kyoto to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth; the river is where he took his last photographs with Doshisha classmates during an outdoor farewell gathering.

Meanwhile, Doshisha University awarded Yoon an honorary doctorate on Feb. 16 this year, marking the 80th anniversary of his death. Founded in 1885, Doshisha has never before awarded an honorary doctorate posthumously, making Yoon the first recipient.


Hyun-Seok Lim lhs@donga.com