The Cryptic-est Korea Herald Article (on Korean Lit) EVAR!

The Korean Herald, as many “English” Korean newspapers, continues to innovate in the field of “WTF?” with an article on a Sijo contest held by the US embassy here.

The article includes the unlikely etymological claim that “The famous Obama word “hope” was on the poster.”

I’d have sworn we famously had hope before Obama, but what do I know?

The article also features a bizarre description of the sijo form:

In “The Bamboo Grove: An Introduction to Sijo,” Richard Rutt explains that sijo may be narrative or thematic and introduces a situation in line 1, development in line 2, and twist and conclusion in line 3.

“The first half of the final line employs a twist: a surprise of meaning, sound, or other device. Sijo is often more lyrical and personal than other East Asian poetic forms, and the final line can take a profound turn.

“Yet, the conclusion of sijo is seldom epigrammatic or witty. A witty close to a sentence would have been foreign to the genius of stylized Korean diction in the great sijo periods,” says Rutt.

It is, indeed, a mysterious and multi-faceted form!

But the weirdest thing? Nowhere in the article are the winners named, and there isn’t one example of their writing.

Huh?

That’s some mighty fine reportin’ work there Lou!