Sijo contest in LA

By Mark Peterson

The Los Angeles Korean Cultural Center (KCCLA) announced the winners of their sijo contest last week. It was an online contest with contestants from all across the United States. This is the first annual sijo contest for Korea's LA cultural center, which means they intend to do it again next year and thereafter. This is welcome news and a positive indicator that sijo is catching on in America.

I've reported previously on the Sejong Cultural Society in Chicago that has held a sijo contest online for the last 13 years for high school students, and last year was the second year for the post-high school group. The KCCLA contest is open to all.

The contest had a theme: "anything inspiring to get through COVID19." The awards were announced in a virtual award ceremony ― a very nice, visually appealing video with an abstract background and with music. Go to Facebook, search for "Korean Cultural Center, Los Angeles," and the award ceremony is easy to find. They start with the bottom up, from third place (five winners) to second place (three winners), and first place. Here I'll go top down.

The first place winner is [Dacy Lim]. Here is her sijo:

"Cold moon cold, blank white gleaming, on full nights I see your edge ―
One smooth arc, silver circle, night sky nightlight, dreamer's bedmate ―
Cold moon cold, you social distance. Earth's buddy, you do it right."

There were three second place winners and I happen to know two of them. Chuck Newell is a high school teacher in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Marcy Tanter, a professor from Texas. I understand the winner lives in the LA area, and a second-place winner lives in New Mexico. It's good to see the appeal of sijo is spreading all across America.

[Nishizawa Rodriguez]
"I hear it… the whispering of the wind against my ears.
Smile, she says;
Smile when it hurts,
Smile when it works,
Smile when it ends.
Teeth or no teeth, brighten your smile until the wind says no mas."

[Marcy Tanter]
"Your red eyes and tear-stained face are fuzzy on my laptop,
But the sound I hear is clear, as your strong voice tells me you're well
And you sigh as you stretch your arms to the sun, embracing me, but not."

[Chuck Newell]
"In the east, the sun rises. It melts away the morning dew.
In the west, the sun sets. The last warmth of day fades over the hill.
This is how I mark pandemic time. The day, the month, matters not."

There were five winners in the "third place" ― and I don't know any of them, but let me comment on the diversity of sijo in America. I mentioned the geography spread across the United States. Here, let me note that two of the nine winners seem to have "kyopo" (Korean American names). The winner, Dacy Lim, has a last name that is likely to be Korean, but she could be Chinese. One of the third place winners has a name, Bae, that is likely Korean, but there are a few Bae in China. The remaining six have names that are truly American ― Anglo, Irish, Hispanic, and Italian? (Llanto) ― well, with American names, in the American "salad bowl," it's hard to know. But from my perspective, the appeal of sijo seems to be found across a diverse range of Americans.

[Ellen Bae]
"Dust it off, that memory I was there, supposedly
Flowing clear, temple water: so cold and sweet, in big slow gulps
Languid dream, of tiny forks spearing and cut fruit ― strangely kin."

[LaNette Donoghue]
"Passing stars,
Swept swiftly by,
Outside time, and mortal sky.

Heaven bound, memories
Fade. Trailing, slipping
Beyond the grave.

Born anew, I won
By his grace. Resting on
Clouds, seeing his face."

[Rosa Llanto]
"The world said, 'Please, heal me in this moment.' We got to it.
New hobbies, home-made dinner. Mom learning how to use Zoom call.
Yet, we are healing too. Reflecting. Realizing our thoughts have power."

[George Posten]
"Amidst these temple grounds confined I find more gained than lost,
Compelled to walk again similar paths in meditation,
Kitchen window garden, front door sky, stay at home enlightenment."

[Rubyellen Bratcher]
"Time like this, a rare moment, treasuring all these long days.
Little ones, all around us, the time with them, like vapor.
This will pass, life will move along, longing for time to rewind."

Congratulations to all the winners. These are beautiful sijo ― each helps us get through these trying times. Congratulations to Korea's Los Angeles cultural center for a successful first year. I hope they have more and greater years ahead. Now, with two major contests, Sejong and KCCLA , sijo will gain a stronger foothold in America. Sijo is the strongest representative of traditional Korean literature and culture in America. True, there are more current elements of Korean culture that are winning places in America (like K-drama, and K-pop), but the underpinning of the current is traditional Korean culture. And now sijo has adapted to American culture.

Mark Peterson (markpeterson@byu.edu) is professor emeritus of Korean, Asian and Near Eastern languages at Brigham Young University in Utah