Kim Hyun-seung was born on April 4, 1913 in Pyongyang, North Korea. He later moved to Gwangju at the age of 7, and graduated from Soongsil Professional School, which is now SSU. He is well known for his works such as “The Dawn is Calling You”, “Firm Solitude”, “Tears”, and “The Prayer of Autumn.” However, on April 11, 1975, Kim Hyunseung, also known as 'the poet of solitude and autumn', breathed his last breath. It was his 100th birthday in 2013. This year is his 40th death anniversary. In April 3, 2015, a poetry reading memorial ceremony was held at Baird Hall room 301, SSU in order to cherish the memory of this great poet, whose nom de plume was 'Da Hyoung'. The theme for this ceremony was “flowers that firmly smiled through the white teeth of youth”. This event was cosponsored by the Department of Korean Language and Literature, Department of Creative Writing, and the Da Hyoung Literature Society.
The ceremony was hosted by the poet, Jung Woo-young, the secretary general of the Writers Association of Korea. Park Nam-hee, as well as the other poets, announced his poems in memory of Da Hyoung Kim Hyun-seung, while professors and students performed poetry reading of Kim Hyun-seung. In addition, the music group “Trouvere” held an entertaining performance with songs composed of lyrics from his poems.
The 40th anniversary poetry reading memorial ceremony was not only to commemorate this great poet but also to show his other characteristics apart from him being known as a poet of solitude and autumn. The poetry reading event has given the people an opportunity to read Da Hyoung Kim Hyun-seung's poems. In addition, Professor Lee Eunbong of the Department of Creative Thinking from Gwangju University was given the chance to speak of his time with Kim Hyun-seung as his former professor when he was a student. The event ended with two more people doing extra poetry reading and photographs of the people who participated in the event have been taken.
