In recent years, there has been much scholarly research on Korean poetry written by Korean poets. One famous Korean female poet was the famed courtesan Hwang Jin Yi (황진이). This is a poem written by Hwang Jin Yi.

靑山裏碧溪水 (청산리벽계수)

[청산리 벽계수야] Honorable Byuk Kye Soo

莫誇易移去 (막과이이거)

[수이 감을 자랑 마라] Do not boast of leaving so early

一到滄海 (일도창해)

[일도창해하면] When you venture out to the sea

不復還 (부복환)

[다시 오기 어려우니] It will be difficult to return

明月滿空山 (명월만공산)

[명월이만공산] The full bright moon above the empty mountain

暫休且去奈何 (잠휴차거나하)

[할 제 쉬어간들 어떠리] How about staying here to rest

 Her courtesan name was Myeongwol  (명월), which means “bright moon” in Korean. Therefore the line that says

“明月滿空山 (명월만공산)

[명월이만공산] The full bright moon above the empty mountain

暫休且去奈何 (잠휴차거나하)

[할 제 쉬어간들 어떠리] How about staying here to rest”

is a play on words. On the one hand 明月 (명월) refers to the courtesan Hwang Jin Yi, but it also refers to a bright moon. When Hwang suggests “staying here to rest” she isn’t exactly telling Lord Byuk Kye Soo to camp out on an empty mountain. She’s a courtesan so “staying here to rest” is another way of telling Lord Byuk Kye Soo to spend the night. As you can see this poem was constructed to convey a sexual undertone. However sexual this poem is, it is wisely composed in a subtle manner that is not overly vulgar or lewd. In short, this poem shows the genius of Hwang Jin Yi’s efforts to ply her trade and express her poetic talents. Before I go, I just want to explain that the letters not in parentheses or brackets are Hanja (한자) or Sino Korean characters. The Hangul (한글) in parentheses are the Korean pronunciations of the Hanja. Finally the Hangul in brackets are the meanings of the Hanja.