In Celebration of the Late Poet Yun Dong-ju: His Pure Shining Spirit The 67th anniversary memorial service of the late poet Yun Dong-ju was held on February 16th in front of his monument. The service was attended by his family, including his eldest nephew Dr. Yoon In-seok (Sungkyunkwan University), President of Yonsei University Jeong Kap-young and the committee of Academic Affairs, faculty and students, and many people who loved him and his poems. The service took place to pay tribute to the late poet who died so young— the love for his nation and his spirit of literature. In the funeral oration, President Jeong Kap-young said, “The late poet Yun Dong-ju was a new and fresh ‘star’ that shined while waiting for the dawn in a dark night of history. He still sparkles in our history of literature, just like the star he voiced about. At Yonsei, the Yun Dong-ju Memorial Project will be promoted so that the poet’s pure nature can be reached to all the people who love him and his poems.” After the service and the wreath-laying ceremony, attendants gathered at the Yun Dong-ju Memorial Room in Pinson Hall. Poet Yun Dong-ju: Loved by People in Korea and around the World Alumnus Yun Dong-ju was a prominent intellectual who exchanged his life with the pain of his country. Born on 1917 December 30th at Kandoseong, Yongjeong, Myeongdongchon, the late poet graduated Yonhi College and studied abroad at Doshisha University in Japan. During his study abroad, he was arrested by Japanese police for engaging in the Korea independence movement. He left the world at an early age of 27 in Fukuoka Prison on 1945 February 16th, just 6 months before Korea’s liberation from Japan. His work became known when his posthumous collection was published in 1948. His famous poems, including “Prologue”, “A Night of Counting Stars” and “The Cross”, express his powerful spirit wishing to overcome troubles in reality and to bolster courage. He is the national poet who is most loved by Koreans, and his poems are recited throughout the world. Various Memorial Projects for the Succession of the Late Poet’s Spirit In year 2000, Yonsei University organized a Yun Dong-ju Memorial Project Committee in order to carry on the late poet’s pure shining spirit. In 2004, the Yun Dong-ju Memorial Room was constructed on the second floor of Pinson Hall. It exhibited his photographs, original copies of his work, and other publications. The location of Pinson Hall was a dormitory when Yun Dong-ju was a student of Yonhi College, so it was his room and a special place for him. As part of the Project, every year Yonsei University holds the Yun Dong-ju Poetry Prize, poetry contest, poem recitation contest, and special lectures. Collections of his work and translations into English were published as well.