THE SIJO EXCHANGE BETWEEN YI PANG-WŎN AND CHŎNG MONG-JU
The following sijo exchange is said to have taken place between Yi Pang-wŏn (1367–1422), fifth son of Yi Sŏng-gye, founder of the Chosŏn Dynasty, and Chŏng Mong-ju (1337–1392), Koryŏ statesman and loyalist. (The numbers following the names are the entry numbers for these sijo texts in Ch’ŏng Pyŏng-uk’s Sijo munhak sajŏn. See the Notes for publication details.)
Things go this way, like them or not;
things go that way too.
What if the vines on Mansu Mountain
grow tangled and long? What of that?
Let us unwind just like them
and enjoy life a hundred years more.
Though this body die
and die and die again,
White bones become but dust,
a soul exist, then not,
Still this single-hearted loyalty to my lord:
how could it waver, ever?