▲ Photo of Ahn Do-hyun. (Photo from bookdb,co.kr)

 Ahn Do-hyun, who is famous for his poetry about coal briquettes, has been appointed as a full-time professor in the Department of Literary Creative Writing at Dankook University. He graduated from the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Wonkwang University and completed his master’s and doctorate degree at Dankook University. He is well-known for the lyrical portrayal of life and history from the perspective of pure youth and his literary works that describes the reality of the nation and society with delicate sensitivity. To learn more about his values for literature and literary creation, the Dankook Herald interviewed Ahn Do-hyun.

 Q1. We learned that you graduated from Dankook University’s Graduate School of Literature Creative Writing. How do you feel about being a full-time professor now at DKU?

1. As a person who has been writing poetry for a long time, I’m thinking about sharing the experiences of creating poetry with students. So I’m looking forward to talking and having classes with students.

Q2. What does it mean for you to create literature?

1. I think creating literature is like fighting with the language. The goal of creative writing is to give an emotional echo to the reader by writing a literary work in Korean, which is our native language. There are various ways in which people communicate such as words and videos. But I think literary creation especially requires struggling with the language.

Q3. Where do you usually get inspiration when you’re writing?

1. To people who create literature, inspiration comes not only from special places, but also from their daily lives. I think there’s more inspiration from things that other people don’t examine closely and think are trivial.

Q4. What is the most important thing to consider when you write a poem?

1. I have a much stronger sense of writing something poetic instead of poetry. I think the effort to look at and express differently from others, forms the basis of the poetry. The poems about briquettes and soy sauce marinated crabs are all works in which I tried to find a hidden meaning from things that are easily found in our lives.

▲ Professor Ahn Do-hyun at his office. (Interview picture)

Q5. What do you think is the greatest charm of literary creation?

1. For me, literary creation is important than anything else in the world because it not only helps the growth of the writer but also affects the lives of the person who reads it.

Q6. What is most important when teaching students as a professor of the Department of Literary Creative Writing?

1. I think teachers and students should be in a horizontal relationship and as I said at the beginning, teaching is like sharing my experience of creative writing with the students. I think that it is important for us to communicate together rather than just teach profound knowledge.

Q7. What advice would you like to give to Dankookians who dream of becoming a literary man like you?

1. These days, we live in a close relationship with our cell phones. I think anyone who wants to create a literary work should stay far away from these devices. I hope they become someone who looks at the sky a little longer.

 During the interview, Professor Ahn Do-hyun showed his passion for literature and literary creation. He is a poet who constantly tries to find meaning in trivial subjects in his everyday life, based on his keen sense of observation and astute ability to reflect on reality. His writings include clean, delicate echoes, as well as a sharp, yet truly leisurely insight about life and the world. Based on his valuable experience, he is also a great educator who will teach his students with genuine love. With Professor Ahn Do-hyun’s recent appointment, the DKH is looking forward to the continued development of the Department of Literary Creative Writing at Dankook University.