Poems of Dr. Kang, Byeong-Cheol (South Korea)

Poet Dr. Kang, Byeong-Cheol

Poet Dr. Kang Byeong-Cheol is a Korean author and poet born in Jeju City, South Korea, in 1964. He began his literary career in 1993 with the publication of his first short story, Song of Shuba, at the age of twenty-nine. He published a collection of short stories in 2005 and has since authored more than twelve books and received eight literary awards.
From 2009 to 2014, he served as a member of the Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International and as Vice President of Jeju PEN. He also worked as an editorial writer for Jeju Ilbo, a newspaper based in Jeju City, Korea. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and currently serves as Vice President of the Korean Institute for Peace and Cooperation. In addition, he is the Founding President of the Korean Association of World Literature and an editorial writer for Jemin Ilbo.
Dr. Kang's literary achievements have received wide recognition. In 1993, he won the New Writers’ Prize for Fiction from the Jeju Literary Association. In 2014, he received the Grand Prize in Fiction at the 11th Literary World Awards. He was also honored with the 19th Blue Poetry Award in recognition of his refined poetic expression and philosophical insight.
In 2023, he received the “Best International Poet and Translator Award” from the International Center for Poetry Translation in China. In 2025, he was honored with the “Best Asian Poet of the Year” Award at the 5th Silk Road International Poetry and Art Festival in Dubai. In 2026, he received the Prix d’Honneur (pour l’ensemble de son œuvre) from the Naji Naaman Literary Prizes in recognition of his lifetime literary achievements.
 
 
The Source of Compassion
 
The deeper the wound,
the clearer the spring.
 
The moment
you awaken
to the truth
that you and I were never two,
 
the river
relinquishes its name
and becomes the sea.
 
There, on the silent shore,
a single lotus
blooms in silence.
 
 


 
Erfoud, Where Ages Past And Present Tie
 
A town famed for treasures beneath sand's warm embrace,
Where ancient seas whisper with silent, haunting grace.
On Sahara's edge, where vastness meets the ground,
The land shares tales, an eon's quest profound.
In awe, I stand, gazing at history's hand.
 
From Paleozoic depths to Mesozoic scenes,
Trilobites in ancient oceans found their serene.
And cephalopods, through epochs, boldly turned the page,
Their silence, a legacy that transcends any age.
 
Beside fossils of sunflowers and palms, gracefully placed,
A reminder of eternity, in the living's gaze.
In Erfoud, where ancient whispers amaze,
Echoing through the desert's timeless, winding maze.
 
Erfoud, a village where the past's breath fills the desert air,
Where history's layers gracefully unfold, laid bare.
In each stone, a million stories boldly told.
A place that humbles people, with its tales of old, so bold.
 
 
 
 

 
 
Starlight Time
 
I looked to the stars
and came to know myself.
The light endures though the star is long gone.
 
Life flows forward.
The past becomes the present;
the future draws near.
 
When we hold compassion,
we begin to shine like stars.
 
We swim through time,
drifting like starlit fish
along a path with no beginning,
no end.
Still, the light moves.
 
It hasn’t reached you yet,
but it’s coming just for you.
 
In the silence of space,
waiting still breathes.
Your footsteps
remain as light
in the fabric of the cosmos.
 
Darkness recedes.
The season of love begins.
 
 


 
The Moon and Mother
 
All things bloom,
Like the breeze, like a flame,
They change, they stay awhile,
Then silently fade away.
 
My mother walked with the moon,
Drifting through the endless night.
In her quiet, watchful gaze
Lay a truth too deep for words.
 
When I gaze upon the moon,
Her warmth returns to me,
Her breath becomes a flowing wave,
A river through my soul.
 
I too shall be like the moon,
Lingering on a path of passing,
And as I vanish, I shall leave
A beam of light for someone.
 
Let me be a gentle flame,
Holding hands through the darkest hours,
Like the moon,
Like my mother.
 
 

©® Dr. Kang, Byeong-Cheol