Ko Un

The Korean poet, essayist and novelist Ko Un was born as Ko Untae to a peasant family in Gunsan, North Jeolla province. He had a difficult childhood during the Japanese occupation, which began in 1910 and did not end until then end of the Second World War. During this time, Korean culture was banned, books were burned, Ko Un was forced to use a Japanese name and was not allowed to speak Korean. His father's farmhand taught they young boy to read and write Korean, although the author claims it took a long time for him to master his mother tongue. He started to write poetry when he was twelve in order to better understand and control his confusion.