As if money were everything

[We Sing Our Song] 3. poet Oh Young Ho

In 2019, the fall issue (No. 66) of Jeju Writers was titled 'Jeju, Aiming for Illusion'. As Jeju Island was suffering, and a huge destructive scenario of a second airport loomed, members of the Jeju Writers' Association climbed a hill that might disappear, put up wall poems, and collected poems against the second airport for the feature. Time passed, and eventually, the basic plan for the second airport was published. The government plans to build the second airport anyway. The government is planning to build a second airport on Jeju Island without regard for the destruction of the island's identity, but only for the economic benefits of the construction. Nature was here first, but man is destroying it. We've seen too many communities destroyed by development. We can't be bystanders. The conflict between the Gangjeong Naval Base and the second airport is making Jeju an island of conflict, not an island of peace. It is the duty of us writers living on this island to reflect the times. We want to sing our song by serializing our poems in a relay series. / Jeju Writers' Association

The development of Seongsan is the development of Jeju and the development of the nation. He said that it is a national project and should never be blocked, and that it is important to receive good compensation above all, and he is flying around all day with bronze flashes on his shoulder, scratching my insides as if money is everything. / Photo: copilot

A letter to my son
Oh Young-ho

1
What's the wind blowing on Inwangsan Mountain in Seoul?

It's been blowing dirt here for years. The tense public opinion tug-of-war has left me exhausted, but I feel stronger when I look at Wook's uncle. Even though he is 90 years old, he wears a 'No to the Second Airport' headband every day, and he leads the way with a cane, saying that he will fight until the day he dies because he will never give up the wasteland he inherited, which he has cultivated until his hands and feet are worn out.

The scent of
citrus blossoms in May
Han Gwang-ri sends his love.

2
Uncle Gil's uncle, who doesn't talk anymore, says

The development of Seongsan is the development of Jeju, and even the development of the country. It's a national project, so it should never be blocked, and above all, it's important to be well compensated, he said, and they flew around all day with bronze flashes on their shoulders,

as if money would do
everything,
scratching my insides.

3
It's a tug-of-war again in every quiet village.

I used to climb Dodongbong Tongu-oreum Mogu-oreum Nasi-oreum Yugan-oreum Bigmul-oreum Nangki-oreum Wangmu-oreum Dugun-oreum Eunda-oreum during summer vacation. Standing at the top of Oreum and looking at the distant horizon beyond Sunrise Peak and the small islands floating in the blue sea, you nurtured your dreams. But now

your hometown is like a
time bomb, and you are afraid of
when it will explode.

Opening Note
Given that Jeju has been thoroughly disintegrated and dismantled in the historical frenzy of modern history, and given that there is no guarantee that it will not do so again in the frenzy of development capitalism, it is not an exaggeration to say that the poetic indictment of this work demands that the Jeju community "wake up" to the question of what kind of life it wants to live and how best to envision its future.(Goh Myung-cheol)