DDungDDang FamilyA Review of Lee Sang-guk's Poetry Collection 『I Lived Without Even Forgiving』
Hello? This is the Ddungddang family. When I first saw this collection, honestly I hesitated because of the title. 'I Lived Without Even Forgiving' — doesn't it sound like the heavy confession of someone who has half-wrapped up their life? The cover, with blue paint bleeding across it, also looks soft and deep. But the moment I actually turned the first page... it was completely unexpected. Far more honest than I expected, and in some ways even cu
Hello?
This is the Ddungddang family.
When I first saw this collection, honestly I hesitated because of the title.
'I Lived Without Even Forgiving' — doesn't it sound like the heavy confession of someone who has half-wrapped up their life?
The cover, with blue paint bleeding across it, also looks soft and deep.
But the moment I actually turned the first page... it was completely unexpected.
It was a collection far more honest than I expected, and in some ways even cute.
I read 「My Poem」, printed on the first page,
and burst out laughing right away.
"My poetry doesn't grow
flowers bloom and fade all on their own
even a calf understands its mother's words
but my poetry doesn't grow
As you live, love grows and sorrow grows
partings grow too
but my poetry doesn't grow
my life doesn't grow"
After reading this part, I unknowingly scribbled next to the collection.
"The only thing that ever grows is my weight..."
The poet says 'love grows and sorrow grows,' so why is it that only the things I don't want grow so diligently for me?
Still, writing my trivial worries next to the poet's anguish somehow comforted me.
Thinking, "Ah, we all live worrying about something that isn't going well."
Then, after laughing, I came across the poem 「Undeserved (過分)」
and my heart settled down.
"Even though they barely know me,
a neighborhood coffee shop that gives coffee coupons on credit
mornings that somehow come and go
God, who gives a bar snack at the pub on gloomy days
asking whether I had lunch
a parcel that ran all day from Namhae"
There are small kindnesses the world just bestows on me, not because I'm anything special.
The neighborhood cafe owner's small consideration, a parcel that came running from far away, a friend who shares a drink with me...
It made me think that all these things ordinary me enjoys might in fact be 'more than I deserve'.
After reading it, even today's delivery box and the smile I get at my regular cafe felt a little more precious.
For when you need comfort that isn't grand but just tosses out one word and quietly disappears,
for when you catch yourself thinking, "Why am I so sensitive these days?"
for anyone who wants to read poetry but wants to avoid anything too difficult, I strongly recommend it.
Especially for those feeling down because 'something isn't going well'.
The poet himself worries that his poetry isn't growing, so surely we're allowed to worry at our level too, aren't we?
I Lived Without Even Forgiving — Lee Sang-guk2025Changbi
