Original (Korean):
산유화(山有花)
by 김소월
산에는 꽃 피네
꽃이 피네
갈 봄 여름 없이
꽃이 피네
산에
산에
피는 꽃은
저만치 혼자서 피어 있네
산에서 우는 작은 새요
꽃이 좋아
산에서
사노라네
산에는 꽃 지네
꽃이 지네
갈 봄 여름 없이
꽃이 지네
Mountain Flower
by Kim So Wol
There are flowers blooming in the mountain
Flowers are blooming
It does not matter if it is Autumn, Spring, or Summer
Flowers are blooming
In the mountain
In the mountain
The awakening flowers
Are blooming there by itself
The little bird that cries in the mountain,
Because it likes the flower
In the mountain
It lives
There are flowers withering in the mountain
Flowers are withering
It does not matter if it is Autumn, Spring, or Summer
Flowers are withering
산유화(山有花)
by 김소월
산에는 꽃 피네
꽃이 피네
갈 봄 여름 없이
꽃이 피네
산에
산에
피는 꽃은
저만치 혼자서 피어 있네
산에서 우는 작은 새요
꽃이 좋아
산에서
사노라네
산에는 꽃 지네
꽃이 지네
갈 봄 여름 없이
꽃이 지네
Mountain Flower
by Kim So Wol
There are flowers blooming in the mountain
Flowers are blooming
It does not matter if it is Autumn, Spring, or Summer
Flowers are blooming
In the mountain
In the mountain
The awakening flowers
Are blooming there by itself
The little bird that cries in the mountain,
Because it likes the flower
In the mountain
It lives
There are flowers withering in the mountain
Flowers are withering
It does not matter if it is Autumn, Spring, or Summer
Flowers are withering
The beautiful thing about language are the slangs and unique words. As you know, some languages have words that just don't exist in other languages and have slangs that just don't work in the same way when translated. Let me show you some examples:
If you really think about it, almost every poem has these slang, right?
Overall, I thought this poem was simple and beautiful. East Asian poems tend to about nature. A lot of Asian poets write about flowers, trees, ponds, and animals. Even if what the poets are trying to convey is not about nature, they include some bit of it in their poems.
Analysis:
The overall tone is that of melancholy.
I felt very lonely when I was reading this poem. I thought about the two major steps in our life cycle: birth and death. When the flowers are blooming, life is being born. It doesn't matter what weather it is; life is constantly happening. As life grows, it goes through many other events. With life comes loneliness and friendship (the little bird that lives in the mountain with the flower)...then eventually, death. It doesn't matter what weather it is; life will die.
Chronology -
As you can see, the poem goes in chronological order; birth, life, and then death. This allows the readers to think about their own life, thus comparing the flower to their own selves. In addition, by going in chronological order, the poem has a very gloomy, sad and lonely feeling/tone. This poem would be different if it started with death and ended with life.
Repetition -
Repetition is frequent in this poem. The most important one is the first stanza and the last one. They're both the same, except the first one is about the flowers blooming and the last one is about the flowers dying. This repetition gives the poem a very powerful effect, saying that life and death are not that different.
Use of Punctuation -
Have you noticed that the original (Korean) version has no punctuation? This is another interesting fact about the Korean language. One does not always need to use punctuation. Everything makes perfect sense even without commas or periods. I know this applies to most, if not all, languages as well, but this case is different. Most of the time when poets take out commas or periods, the poem is grammatically incorrect. The use, or the lack of, punctuation is a literary device as well. But in Korean, even without punctuation, the poem is grammatically correct.
Korean Analysis:
운율 (verse): 7.5조, 3음보 율격
꽃 : 모든 생명체 (All life)
꽃 피네: 생명의 생성 (Life's birth)
꽃 지네: 생명의 소멸 (Life's death)
- 갈: This means Autumn. Usually, Autumn is spelled like " 가을 " but the author used a slang version to make this word have one syllable.
- 사노라네: This is a phrase that was used in the olden days in Korea. It's like Shakespearean's poetic way of speaking -- but the Korean version. This means: to live.
If you really think about it, almost every poem has these slang, right?
Overall, I thought this poem was simple and beautiful. East Asian poems tend to about nature. A lot of Asian poets write about flowers, trees, ponds, and animals. Even if what the poets are trying to convey is not about nature, they include some bit of it in their poems.
Analysis:
The overall tone is that of melancholy.
I felt very lonely when I was reading this poem. I thought about the two major steps in our life cycle: birth and death. When the flowers are blooming, life is being born. It doesn't matter what weather it is; life is constantly happening. As life grows, it goes through many other events. With life comes loneliness and friendship (the little bird that lives in the mountain with the flower)...then eventually, death. It doesn't matter what weather it is; life will die.
Chronology -
As you can see, the poem goes in chronological order; birth, life, and then death. This allows the readers to think about their own life, thus comparing the flower to their own selves. In addition, by going in chronological order, the poem has a very gloomy, sad and lonely feeling/tone. This poem would be different if it started with death and ended with life.
Repetition -
Repetition is frequent in this poem. The most important one is the first stanza and the last one. They're both the same, except the first one is about the flowers blooming and the last one is about the flowers dying. This repetition gives the poem a very powerful effect, saying that life and death are not that different.
Use of Punctuation -
Have you noticed that the original (Korean) version has no punctuation? This is another interesting fact about the Korean language. One does not always need to use punctuation. Everything makes perfect sense even without commas or periods. I know this applies to most, if not all, languages as well, but this case is different. Most of the time when poets take out commas or periods, the poem is grammatically incorrect. The use, or the lack of, punctuation is a literary device as well. But in Korean, even without punctuation, the poem is grammatically correct.
Korean Analysis:
운율 (verse): 7.5조, 3음보 율격
꽃 : 모든 생명체 (All life)
꽃 피네: 생명의 생성 (Life's birth)
꽃 지네: 생명의 소멸 (Life's death)
BONUS
French Version
Fleur de montagne
Par Kim So Wol
Il y a des fleurs fleurissant dans la montagne
Les fleurs qui s’épanouissent
En automne, au printemps, ou en été; il n’y a aucune différence
Les fleurs s’épanouissent
Dans la montagne
Dans la montagne
Les fleurs sont en fleurs, seul
Le petit oiseau qui crie dans la montagne,
Parce qu'il aime la fleur,
Il vit dans la montagne
Il y a des fleurs mourant dans la montagne
Les fleurs sont en train de se faner
En automne, au printemps, ou en été; il n’y a aucune différence
Les fleurs sont en train de se faner
French Version
Fleur de montagne
Par Kim So Wol
Il y a des fleurs fleurissant dans la montagne
Les fleurs qui s’épanouissent
En automne, au printemps, ou en été; il n’y a aucune différence
Les fleurs s’épanouissent
Dans la montagne
Dans la montagne
Les fleurs sont en fleurs, seul
Le petit oiseau qui crie dans la montagne,
Parce qu'il aime la fleur,
Il vit dans la montagne
Il y a des fleurs mourant dans la montagne
Les fleurs sont en train de se faner
En automne, au printemps, ou en été; il n’y a aucune différence
Les fleurs sont en train de se faner
Je préfère le poème original car il contient certains mots qui n'existe pas en Anglais ou Français. Ces mots sont impossibles à traduire exactement.
La traduction a un sentiment différente. Ce n'est pas aussi influent ou efficace que l'original. Comme vous pouvez le voir, la version Coréenne est plus courte et simple. La beauté du poème Coréen est sa brièveté, mais cette qualité disparaît dans la version Française.
Quand je lis la poème en Coréenne, je pense que je suis en train d'écouter de la musique. Le rythme est bon. Tout se tient comme une puzzle.
La traduction a un sentiment différente. Ce n'est pas aussi influent ou efficace que l'original. Comme vous pouvez le voir, la version Coréenne est plus courte et simple. La beauté du poème Coréen est sa brièveté, mais cette qualité disparaît dans la version Française.
Quand je lis la poème en Coréenne, je pense que je suis en train d'écouter de la musique. Le rythme est bon. Tout se tient comme une puzzle.