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“The Gatekeeper” by Kim Haengsoon

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One of the many things I love about watching K-drama is all the wonderful poetry I’ve been introduced to. During episode 10 of Hometown Cha Cha Cha, male protagonist Hong Ban-jang reads the poem “The Gatekeeper” from the collection Portrait of Echoes by Kim Haengsook (so that female protagonist Yoon Hye-jin can fall asleep, though he stops at the word “love”). Here’s my translation of this bittersweet poem. Gatekeeper It’s my job to say, “You can’t do that here.” It’s my job to deny your objective. It’s my job to deny you the next day, too. It’s my job to wait for you the following day to deny you again. It’s my job to wait for you the day after that and fall in love with you. So it’s my job to deny my love. “I won’t cry over my vocation,” I wrote. But while writing in my diary, I sometimes wept. —translated by David Bowles September 26, 2021 ____________________________________________________________________ Original Korean 문지기 여기서 이러시면 안 됩니다, 라고 말하는 것이 내 직업이다. 당신의 목적을 부정하는 것이 내 직업이다

One of the many things I love about watching K-drama is all the wonderful poetry I’ve been introduced to. During episode 10 of Hometown Cha Cha Cha, male protagonist Hong Ban-jang reads the poem “The Gatekeeper” from the collection Portrait of Echoes by Kim Haengsook (so that female protagonist Yoon Hye-jin can fall asleep, though he stops at the word “love”). Here’s my translation of this bittersweet poem. Gatekeeper It’s my job to say, “You can’t do that here.” It’s my job to deny your objective. It’s my job to deny you the next day, too. It’s my job to wait for you the following day to deny

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