金宗郁, Kim Jong Uk

Speculated to have studied abroad and lived in the U.S., Kim was the editor of the first known collected book of translated Black American poetry in Korean, 『강한사람들』(titled after Sterling A. Brown’s Strong Men.), the foreword to which was written by poet and critic 김기림. In the same month (January 1949) that 『강한사람들』 would be published, he also submitted several of his translations for a featurette of Black writers in 신천지(Despite having been published within a month of each other, the translations in both 신천지 and 『강한사람들』have very slight differences with each another.), which were published alongside several other translations by different individuals. While his name would soon fade into relative obscurity, his large contribution to the circulation of Black American poetry during the early post-liberation era is not easy to overlook.

Translations appeared in:
신천지
강한사람들
자유신문

Translated Works:
Countee Cullen, From the Dark Tower as 어두운 탑에서
Fenton Johnson, The Scarlet Woman as 윤락의여인
Claude McKay If We Must Die as 만일죽어야된다면은
Frank Marshall Davis, Snapshots of the Cotton South as 면업남부의초상
Margaret Walker, For My People as 나의 인민때문에
Sterling A. Brown, Strong Men as 강한사람들
Melvin B. Tolson, Dark Symphony as 검은교향악

Commentary:
흑인문학개관