VOL.93/2026.04

 

Poet Seo Hyo-In

A poet who delves into the wellspring of resilience and deep emotion

 

2025.07.07

 

People are adapting to the era of network-based videos with astonishing speed as if they’ve been living in it for years. These days, it’s rare to find someone who reads a letter or piece of writing with deep emotional engagement. Because of this, some believe that writing, and poetry in particular, is losing its value. Yet poetry still endures. That’s because there are poets who believe it remains one of the most powerful ways to express human emotions and desires; as long as those emotions and desires exist, so too will poetry.

 

 

It’s an honor to have you with us on K-Book Trends. Please say hello to our readers and introduce yourself briefly.

 

Hello, everyone. I’m poet Seo Hyo-In. It’s an honor to be doing this interview, and it’s good to meet you all.

 

You began your career as a poet in 2006. While in this era where videos and narratives comprise the mainstream, what do you think are the meaning and charms of poetry and literature as a poet?

 

It’s a tough question to begin with. To be honest, I think I enjoy Social Media or watch video content with my smart phone more than I read books related to poetry or literature, even thinking, “Oh, I shouldn’t be like this.” I think it’s how things are in society today. Enjoying poetry or literature at ease is quite difficult. However, I believe that people who often read books, such as poetry, novels, and other humanities, can maintain their own opinions and regulate the level at which they accept various content. I think of it as mental stamina.

 

 

I believe that anything that stands out in our relationships
with society and other people is valuable.

 

 

Your first poetry collection, Code of Conduct for Young Partisans (Minumsa Publishing), and your second poetry collection, 100 Years of World War (Minumsa Publishing), depict people leading intense yet miserable, shabby yet tenacious lives. How did the world appear to you at that time? Please tell us whether you still maintain that perspective today, or if it has changed in any way.

 

The two poetry collections are my early works. It will be 20 years since their publication next year. I wrote them in my late twenties, so I think they are a direct expression of my youth. You could say that I was in a state of anger because I was right and everything else was absurd. However, as time passed, I felt that perspective coming back to me. Then, the questions changed to, “How am I living? What am I? Am I living well?” It’s similar to the growth of life. I observe others, care about others, get angry at others, and then that anger boomerangs back at me. When the emotions I directed at others return to me, they turn into shame or reflection. The topics and attitude in the poems seem to have changed in that way.
So, when I look at the poems I wrote in the past, I sometimes get a strange feeling, like, “Did I really write this?” But, some things haven’t changed. I enjoy the sparks that ignite when I collide with reality. Even if my perspective changes, I think the things that stand out in my relationship with society and other people have more value. I think in Korea, they call that realism.

 

 

You were once nicknamed “rascal” for the two poetry collections mentioned above, but after Welcome, My Daughter (Nanda), you became known as a “good father.” I wonder if you realized that you had changed while writing about your daughter with Down syndrome.

 

My life changed before and after the birth of my first child. Before the child was born, I didn’t think I would stray from an average life, and if I did, I thought it would be because of my own will. For example, choosing to write poetry instead of getting a job would be such a case. I thought that even after the child was born, my life as a father would be lived according to my own will. Then the child was born with Down syndrome. It had nothing to do with my will. Because of an unknown chromosomal abnormality, my world completely collapsed. I found myself in a situation where I had to follow an unavoidable fate. In Asia, especially in Korea, there is still prejudice against disabilities. Many people think it’s a big deal. So, I also had the thought, “My life is in trouble. Why did this happen?”
Welcome, My Daughter is a book about breaking free from such thoughts and overcoming them. It is also a reflection on my regret for not celebrating the birth of my child due to the negative thoughts I had when I first met her. I think my early poetry was simple and lacked depth. However, becoming the father of a socially marginalized child made my writing more multidimensional than before. I became aware of irony. The irony of life is an event and an existence that has had a great influence on my literature and my life.

 

It is well known that you are not only fond of your daughter, but also have a deep love for baseball. Your prose collection, It’s All Because of Baseball (Dasan Contents Group), is proof of that. There might be countless reasons, but please share with us three reasons why you are drawn to baseball.

 

I was under tremendous stress last week because of several unbelievable losses, but I still came up with three reasons why I enjoy watching baseball.
The first reason is because of my hometown. I was born in Gwangju, where the Gwangju Uprising, a major event in modern history, took place. Many people were sacrificed by the military at that time. The following year, professional baseball came into being, and the baseball team based in the region achieved good results. I think that helped comfort and heal the pain of the people in the region at that time. During my childhood, I often went to the baseball stadium with my grandfather, who was a baseball fan, and I still remember the atmosphere there vividly. It was very different from the one at baseball stadiums today. The gloomy mood, the intense games?those elements have already become part of me. So, even when the game is frustratingly bad, I go through the painful process of watching every single moment without missing a thing.
Second, baseball itself has its own appeal. Baseball games can go on for over three hours, and most of that time is spent waiting. Unlike soccer, basketball, or volleyball, the time the ball is actually on the move is very short. In particular, the time it takes for the pitcher to throw the ball to the catcher can be quite long. That’s why it’s easy to watch while thinking about other things. The third reason is that, as with all sports, you start to like certain players. When I was young, I liked Lee Jong-Beom, and now I am a fan of Kim Do-Young. I like to wait for that player’s at-bat or play while watching the game.

 

 

Although you are a poet, you have also published various prose collections, such as Anyways, Inkigayo (Right Season Publishing House), Picture Book Life (Dal Publishers), and Neighbors and Poems (Achimdal Books). Are there any differences in your perspective, emotions, or breathing as a writer when writing poetry or prose?

 

For prose, I tend to have a clear idea of the whole piece before I start writing. I decide on the content, theme, and mood, and then proceed accordingly. On the other hand, I start writing poetry with a more open mind. That’s why poetry is much shorter than prose, but it takes much longer to write.
When I receive requests from media outlets, I can somehow manage to write prose by the deadline. Once I make up my mind to start writing, I can finish it no matter how long it takes. On the other hand, starting a poem is extremely difficult. It is so painful that it makes me feel anxious. Even after writing poetry for nearly 20 years, when I see the blinking cursor, I feel afraid that I might not be able to finish it, or that I don’t know how to start, or that I might be a failed poet. So, while I can somehow finish prose, there are quite a few times when I can’t finish poetry. I fail a lot, too.

 

 

You are currently co-running Anonbooks with Lee Jung-Mi. We assume you established the publishing company because you wanted to create your own books. Can you tell us about the meaning behind the name Anonbooks and the characteristics of the books you have published?

 

We both left large literature publishing companies and started our own company as partners. Typically, large publishing companies operate with experts in each field?planning, marketing, editing, production, and management?working together. When I was working as an editor, I had a strong desire to directly oversee every stage of a book’s production and grow alongside the author. So, I decided to take the plunge and start my own business while I was still young, and now it’s been five years. We strive every day to build closer relationships with authors, pay more attention to each book, and put in the effort to connect more deeply with readers. Ultimately, we aim to bridge the gap between authors, readers, and publishers.

 

* K-Book Trends Vol. 58 ? Go to the interview with Anonbooks

 

 

As an author and the head of a publishing company, are you working on any new books?

 

I expect my sixth poetry collection to be published sometime next year. I am also working on a picture book for children, which may be released as early as this year. I find it meaningful to connect with people who have emotional depth through my writing. I am very satisfied with my career as a writer.
The publishing company is also consistently releasing more than one book per month. We prepared novels and essays for the Seoul International Book Fair (SIBF) last month as well.

 

 

We strive to narrow the gap between authors, readers, and publishers by paying more
attention to each and every book and putting our hearts into our work.

 

 

Lastly, please share any personal goals or wishes you may have beyond literature and books.

 

My personal goal this year is to find peace, but there are many difficulties not only in Korea but also around the world. Although it is not something I can do anything about, I hope to start solving small problems within our community one by one. In the process, I dare to hope that my writing or the books published by our publishing company can make even a small contribution.

 

 

 

 

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