What can measure the weight of a person? It could be their title, the length of their life experiences, or the magnitude of their achievements in the world. However, these factors do not fully explain a person's true weight. Ultimately, what endures are the memories and emotional imprints they leave behind, or, one might say, the 'scent' they exude. Han Myung-kyu, vice president of JTV Jeonju Broadcasting, has published his first poetry collection, 'The Weight of a Person is Measured by Scent' (Shin-A Publishing). The title reflects the thoughts of someone who has deeply contemplated a person's life.
Han Myung-kyu is described by various titles: journalist, administrator, entrepreneur, and broadcasting executive. Born in Jeong-eup, North Jeolla Province, he graduated from Jeonju High School and the Law School of Jeonbuk National University, later studying at the Graduate School of Journalism at Korea University. After serving as a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley in the United States, he began his career as a newspaper reporter. He recorded the flow of the times and people's lives while serving as the editor-in-chief of the Maeil Business Newspaper and led the founding of the World Korean Business Convention. He later served as the vice governor for political affairs in North Jeolla Province, overseeing the local economy and the Saemangeum project, and spent seven years as vice president of the Lao Korao Group, meeting people and markets in a foreign land. After returning to Korea, he became the CEO of JTV Jeonju Broadcasting. His life has traversed journalism, administration, business, and broadcasting. Looking back, this poetry collection did not suddenly begin at a certain point in that long journey; rather, it is the culmination of countless people and landscapes he has seen, heard, and experienced over time, finally flowing into sentences.
What is intriguing about his background is not just the glamour of his titles. While working as vice president of a company in Laos, he also operated a gallery café in his hometown of Jeonju, showcasing Laotian art. In broadcasting management, he demonstrated remarkable leadership by significantly growing JTV, gaining national attention. A journalist observes and records the world, while a manager makes choices and takes responsibility for outcomes. Han Myung-kyu has experienced both roles throughout his life. Thus, reading his poetry is not merely following a poet's reflections; it is akin to peering into the inner world of a person who has navigated reality with the eyes of a newspaper reporter and the hands of a manager.
The poetry collection is divided into four sections: 'Peeling the Shell', 'Things That Came and Went', 'Standing Firmly', and 'Rewriting Myself'. It includes 95 poems and two song lyrics, accompanied by photographs taken by the author, creating a 'reading poetry collection' as well as a 'visual poetry collection'. The songs 'Did You Forget?' and 'Recollection', created in collaboration with composer Kim Jeong-ho, can also be listened to via QR codes. The format blends poetry, photography, and music, but what stands out more than the format is the depth of life contained within.
In the preface, Han Myung-kyu writes, “Poetry feels like a late-arriving guest.” He suggests that the poetry he had long postponed, believing it was not the right time, has finally been welcomed. He describes writing poetry as a reunion with the dreams of his youth, a way to embrace the time he has lived, and a quiet means of expressing gratitude, regret, and longing that he had not previously conveyed. This clarifies the nature of this poetry collection. It is not a book to showcase newfound literary talent but rather a careful unveiling of the stories that a person has kept in their heart over many years.
Thus, his poetry exhibits a restraint that seems to peel away the layers of life. Rather than explaining life with grand rhetoric, he draws meaning from the small landscapes of daily life, observing people, time, and nature without hastily reaching conclusions. At times sharp, at times lyrical, his work is infused with wit and satire. Above all, it is simple and honest, yet the perspective on life remains positive. A close acquaintance who read the collection remarked, “It shows sharp insights into life while maintaining a sense of ease, being lyrical yet restrained, with wit and satire, and a positive, honest demeanor.” This comment reflects the lingering impact of the collection, as readers express a desire to savor it slowly after initially rushing through.
Poet Heo Yeon also noted in his foreword that Han Myung-kyu's poetry embodies “the aesthetics of realization and transcendence.” He described the collection as filled with aphorisms that provoke nods of agreement, infused with humor and insight into the fundamental values and beauty of life. The wisdom gained from a long life differs from the knowledge of youth. One learns what is truly important and realizes how much lighter what once seemed significant becomes in the face of time. Han Myung-kyu's poetry embodies this sense of time. It acknowledges the weight of life without being crushed by it, maintaining warmth toward humanity while observing the world with a discerning eye.
One acquaintance shared that reading this collection was like “swiftly traversing the panorama of the past 40 years and being deeply moved.” This statement holds significant meaning in understanding Han Myung-kyu's poetry. While his poems do not record specific events or experiences, they are imbued with the time spent as a newspaper reporter navigating the world, as an editor handling countless sentences, as an administrator contemplating the future of the region, and as a business leader encountering unfamiliar cultures and people in Laos. The emotions he could not express in articles or quantify as a business leader are now articulated in the language of poetry.
The language of a journalist differs from that of a poet. A reporter must convey facts clearly, while a poet does not need to explain everything. Instead, a poet leaves space behind each line for the reader to bring their own experiences to complete the meaning. Han Myung-kyu has spent his life working with words. As a reporter and editor, he recorded numerous issues and assessed the value of language, and as a broadcasting executive, he experienced the power of words and images on people. As a poet, he chooses to be more economical with words. This restraint comes from having seen much and the ease that comes from meeting many people.
The title of the poetry collection, 'The Weight of a Person is Measured by Scent', can also be understood in this context. A person's weight cannot be measured solely by the numbers of their career. What matters more is how they have lived, and how they are remembered by others, rather than the heights they have reached. Scent is invisible but lingers. So too do people. Some become clearer after they have left, and it may take time to realize their true essence. The 'scent' the poet refers to may well be the traces of a person's life left behind after the passage of time.
In this sense, this first poetry collection represents not just another achievement for Han Myung-kyu, who has a wealth of experience, but a new way of looking at his life. If the accomplishments of his youth were about moving forward into the world, the poetry that has come in the latter part of his life is about returning inward. As suggested by the title of the final section, 'Rewriting Myself', it is not about erasing the past but embracing all that time and rewriting it in a new language. The time spent as a newspaper reporter, as an editor, as a vice governor and corporate vice president, the seven years in Laos, and the time in his hometown of Jeonju, as well as his time managing JTV, are all encapsulated within.
One acquaintance remarked that the publication of this poetry collection is a “great achievement in life.” This sentiment underscores the significance of a first poetry collection becoming another major accomplishment for someone who has already achieved much in society, illustrating how the meaning of success changes as one moves into the later stages of life. It is a shift from proving something to others to sharing what has long been held within oneself, which may represent a deeper achievement in life.
'The Weight of a Person is Measured by Scent' thus marks a late literary debut for a journalist and a quiet reckoning of the time a person has lived. The 95 poems reflect the traces of someone who has tirelessly pursued the world and now pauses to reflect on themselves. The book's format, enhanced by photographs and songs, ultimately aims to capture moments of life rather than letting them slip away.
If poetry is a late-arriving guest, it may have been quietly walking alongside Han Myung-kyu for a long time. Even during his time as a newspaper reporter observing the world, as a businessman navigating unfamiliar markets, and as a manager contemplating the fate of an organization, poetry likely resided quietly within him. He has now opened the door to welcome it.
And the title of his first poetry collection conveys a profound message: the true weight of a person cannot be measured solely by the titles on their business cards or the achievements left in the world. Ultimately, what remains of a person is the scent of the life they have lived.
That he has captured this scent in a book may be the most beautiful achievement Han Myung-kyu has gained in the latter part of his life.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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