Manhae Han Yong-un, a Poet of Resistance who Fought for Korea’s Independence

My love is gone
Ah, the one I love is gone
On the narrow path toward maple woods that break away the mountain green, my love tore away from me

- from “The Silence of My Love” by Han Yong-un-


Poet Han Yong-un is well known for his poem “The Silence of My Love.” He is viewed as a modern poet in the history of Korean literature and one of the representative poets of resistance during the Japanese colonial period.

Han’s major work “The Silence of My Love” is included in his first collection of poems with the same title. The collection that contains 88 poems was published in 1926. It’s hard to specify exactly who “my love” is in this literary work, but based on the historical backdrop, it is often interpreted as the poet’s home country.

Han was a revolutionist during the Japanese occupation of Korea, and he expressed his ardent wish for his country’s independence through his poetry. He was also a Buddhist monk who cried out for the reform of Buddhism. His penname was Manhae(만해), meaning ten thousand seas. Let’s explore the life of this man of many faces.

Representing Buddhist Society when Leading Independence Movement

Han Yong-un was born in August 1879 in Hongseong, South Chungcheong Province. While growing up, Han witnessed the struggles of righteous armies and the Donghak Peasant Revolution that rejected feudalism and foreign influence. In this turbulent period of the waning dynasty, Han decided to enter the Oseam(오세암) Temple at Mt. Seorak in Gangwon Province, and in 1896 he began to practice asceticism. Later, he went to Baekdamsa(백담사) Temple at the same mountain to renounce the world and become a Buddhist monk.

Around 1910, corruption and contradictions were rampant in the local Buddhist world. Han lamented over the depressing reality and wondered how to change it. In his book Revitalizing Reform of Joseon Buddhism, he suggested specific plans of action to remedy the situation.

In 1918, Han published the Buddhist magazine Yusim(유심), meaning mind only, to popularize Buddhism and inspire the national spirit during the dark period of Japanese colonial rule.

In 1919, as a representative of the Buddhist community, Han took the lead in the March 1st independence movement. He was one of the 33 signatories to the Independence Declaration. He printed and distributed the documents to Buddhists in the course of preparing for the nationwide independence movement.

But the contributors who attended the ceremony of proclaiming the independence declaration on March 1st were arrested. Han was one of them. Even in prison, Han showed his dignity and fortitude.

After he was released from prison on December 21st, 1921, he continued taking part in national movements. The following year, he supported the nationwide campaign to encourage the public to buy and use Korean products. He also took the initiative in establishing private collages to promote education.

Afterwards, he formed a secret anti-Japanese organization called “Mandang” (만당) with 20 young Buddhists. Han led this group and actively engaged in the anti-Japanese movement. While based in Dasolsa(다솔사) Temple in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, he fought for his country’s independence. Unfortunately, the organization was discovered by Japan in late 1938.

Never to See National Independence

In Seongbuk-dong, northern Seoul, there is a house named Simujang(심우장), where Han lived out his last ten years. During construction, people advised him to build the house so it would face the south and be sunny, yet stay cool. But Han eventually had the house face the northeast, because to the south was a building for the Japanese Governor-General of Korea, and it was a sight he couldn’t bear to see.

Even after Han turned 60, he was in the forefront of independence movement. He joined the campaign against changing Korean names into Japanese ones in 1940, and also led the movement against Japan’s conscription of young Koreans as “student soldiers” in 1943.

Han entered Nirvana on June 29th, 1944, when Korea’s independence was drawing nearer. He never lived to welcome his “love” that he had wished to see so much.