How did Ko Un’s political activism and Buddhist study influence his poetry?

The poetry of Ko Un is profoundly shaped by the intersection of his spiritual background and his experiences as a political activist.

Buddhist Influence

Seeking solace after the trauma of the Korean War, Ko became a Son (Zen) Buddhist monk in 1952. This period of monastic life deeply influenced his artistic development, grounding his work in Zen traditions. Even after leaving the monastery, his poetry retained a Zen-infused quality, characterized by seemingly simple images and a focus on the present moment. His collection Beyond Self: 108 Korean Zen Poems reflects this enduring spiritual engagement.1

Political Activism

Ko’s involvement in social and political causes during the 1970s and 1980s—which led to multiple arrests and imprisonment—transformed his creative vision. While incarcerated, he conceived his monumental project, Maninbo (“Ten Thousand Lives”), an ambitious effort to write a poem about every person he had ever known.

Despite his intense political history, his work avoids being didactic. Instead, his poetry synthesizes his Zen background with a deep, humanistic concern for everyday people and commonplace occurrences, resulting in verse that is passionate, demotic, and rooted in his national identity.1