It has been decades since I have written my first book of poetry. All of a sudden, I am an old poet. I have now written my 13^th book of poetry and revealed it to the world. Poetry comes from the wisdom an individual poet has. When a poet leaves the earth, his poetry no longer belongs to him. It becomes the songs that belong to others. I do not believe I write good poetry. I simply love the poetry that I have written.

If I could, I would write poetry that all humanity could read and accept. I have been a Christian my whole life. My heart, thoughts, and emotions are filled with the confession of my faith. But what I actually wanted to write was not the expression of my faith. I wanted to write honest songs. I wanted to write stories found in the world which all people could experience. As a member of humanity, I wanted to write things my fellow human beings could relate to and talk about.

This is the reason my previous twelve books of poetry were written. But I can no longer hide the cross of my faith I have taken up. I want to sing the song of my soul. My soul is very lonesome and alienated. But I have a stream of water that nobody can see. Because of this I am blessed. For my whole life, I have devoted myself to my life of faith. I want to confess this through a few humble songs. This 13^th book of poetry, now written and published, contains the songs of my soul.

I never had the ambition of writing well. I merely followed the direction of my pen as songs came out from my soul in a great wave. I may sometimes appear shameful and pitiful when I express myself in my writing, but this has in fact given my soul more blessing. Religion and faith are completely different, just as culture and literature are completely different. I have written my poetry in full awareness of this difference. Whenever each book of poetry is written, I am so joyful in my soul.

As I briefly mentioned, I write poetry and I see another person read them and sing them in song. Whenever I hear other people singing these songs I have written, I am truly inspired and joyful. I do not know how long I have – but until the last moment – I want to write poetry. This is because I want to journey in this world for a long time.

Because this is the poetry of an old man, it may not fit the tastes of the younger generation. But I have heard and seen so many things, having lived on this earth for decades. I ask that no one despise what I have written. I am a poet. I am man who writes. I have written for the sake of mediating the gospel in regard to faith. But I have also revealed the world of my thoughts through my literature. I love them both.

I have a friend from China who reads, edits and translates my writing. He is a fellow poet like myself. I want to introduce him through my recently published book. He is a friend who has written his own poetry, singing the song about the life of Wolsan. I want to reveal his poetry right alongside mine.

Semuon