Graham Borden
on translating Yun Dong-ju
Originally, I was hesitant to choose this poem, as it has already been translated before. However, after reading about Yoon’s harrowing past and taking time to compare the various translations, I noticed some shortcomings and knew this was the poem for me. I was so inspired by Yoon sharing his emotions and wanted to honor his words by conveying them through my own translation.
Yoon was alive during a very tumultuous time, when there was no guarantee of a safe tomorrow. People had no way to predict what each day might bring. To clearly show this message, I translated sentences with this in mind. In particular, I translated the last sentence as “there is no guaranteed tomorrow,” rather than “there is no tomorrow,” to show the questioning nature of the sentence rather than portraying it as a factual statement. I also translated the Korean word 마음이 to “heart,” instead of “mind” which other translated versions often do. I choose this because 마음이 doesn't exactly mean mind, rather it means the body of a person, and the state of them. This way, the sentence “a young hearted inquiry” feels more intimate, and I feel this is more in line with Yoon’s intention. The rest of the poem was translated as directly as possible, also in order to keep with the spirit of the original work.
Through my translation I hope to offer readers a new way to step into the emotions of the author, his experiences, and the context in which the poem was written. Yoon’s poem is so powerful, no matter the language. I tried to capture its meaning so his poem can impact many more people for many more years.
about the author
Yoon Dong-ju was born on December 30, 1917 during the Japanese occupation of Korea. Yoon was dedicated to the Korean independence movement and used his poetry as a tool to fight against oppression. Under Japanese control, Korean culture was greatly suppressed. Koreans were forced to speak Japanese and change their names. However, Yoon continued writing his poems in Hangul, Korean orthography opposed to Japanese. At the age of seventeen, he released his first four poems, including “There is no Tomorrow.”
Yoon was offered a chance to study in Japan to continue his studies in literature, under the condition he changed his last name and followed Japanese rule. This caused Yoon to have conflicting ideas about himself, which he expressed later in a poem, “Confession.” While in Japan, Yoon was captured and put in prison because of his involvement in the independence movement. Due to harsh treatment during imprisonment, Yoon died at the young age of twenty eight. To this day, Yoon’s works are still some of the most beloved in Korea, where there is a museum dedicated to him in Seoul’s Jongno District (종로구).
about the translator
Graham Borden is a sophomore in high school in Northern Kentucky. His interest in learning new languages started a couple years ago. Currently, he is learning Korean and Spanish. In the summer of 2023, he studied in South Korea through the National Security Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y), an intensive language immersion program. While abroad he attended Korean classes daily, lived with a host family, and interacted with locals regularly. This opportunity allowed him to improve his Korean while developing his understanding of the culture. With these skills, he has been able to find deeper meanings in the language, helping him to more effectively translate the ideas into English.
