
윤동주 - <서시(序詩)> : 잎새에 이는 바람과 부끄러움의 미학
The Struggle: Why do Koreans revere '부끄러움' (shame/conscience) as the highest virtue in poetry? In modern colloquial speech, '부끄럽다' means shy or embarrassed, but in classical literature, it is the purest form of moral integrity.
The Secret: '잎새에 이는 바람에도 나는 괴로워했다' (Even at the wind stirring in the leaves, I suffered) shows how extreme moral sensitivity became the ultimate resistance against colonial despair.
죽는 날까지 하늘을 우러러 한 점 부끄럼이 없기를,
Wishing to look up to heaven until the day I die without a single speck of shame,
잎새에 이는 바람에도 나는 괴로워했다.
Even at the wind stirring in the leaves, I suffered in anguish.
별을 노래하는 마음으로 모든 죽어가는 것을 사랑해야지
With a heart singing of the stars, I must love all dying things.
그리고 나한테 주어진 길을 걸어가야겠다.
And I must walk along the path that has been given to me.
오늘 밤에도 별이 바람에 스치운다.
Tonight again, the stars are grazed by the wind.