Seven Pieces of Yun Dong-ju’s Relics…129 Poems “When young, not even old enough to know what a poem was, I would read out loud the lines on the manuscripts written by my uncle. Then when I grew older and found out who the poet actually was, I was afraid to keep such historic and valuable items in the house.” On August 14th, the family of Yun Dong-ju (1917–1945) officially noted their donation of the poet’s handwritten manuscripts and relics. The announcement was more special, being made on the day before the 8.15 National Liberation Day. In a phone call with Hankook Ilbo, Yun Dong-ju’s nephew Professor Yun In-seok (Department of Architecture, Sungkyunkwan University), said, “Some ten years ago, my late father had decided to make the donation, but it was delayed due to the lack of preservation facility at the university. I am very pleased to complete the donation.” The manuscripts that are to be donated include Yun Dong-ju’s prose collections and such poem collections as and which consist of 129 poems, including ‘Prologue,’ ‘A Night for Counting Stars,’ and ‘Self-portrait.’ The manuscripts also show traces of the poet’s revisions. Yun Dong-ju’s relics include his first poem collection published in the Korean language in the 1940-50s; 42 books of his, which all have his signature; flyers of events at Yonhi College; and his Order of Merit for National Foundation. The manuscript of ‘Confession’ is Professor Yun’s favorite. According to him, the manuscript was kept in a picture frame on a wall in the house when he was young. The manuscript, which was written on coarse paper and shows several traces of revisions, contains fragments of his ideas in the margins. The piece was written after Paypyung Yoon decided to change her family name to Hiranuma. It is hard to imagine what a painful and dreadful time it was for Yun Dong-ju. Yonsei University plans to turn the place where Yun Dong-ju lived on campus from 1938 to 1941 (currently a university office) into a Yun Dong-ju Memorial Hall (tentative name). A university official said, “His manuscripts are symbolic artifacts that show the efforts of resistance shown by the colonized, who endeavored to retain their ethnic self-respect from the Japanese invasion.” The donations will be made public early next year after a preservation process.