Spring Rain
Yi Subok (1924-1986)
If this rain stops,
In the field by the river, my mind
Shall deepen to the doleful color of grass.
In the clear sky
Above the green field of wheat,
Only a skylark would chirp so-and-so.
If this rain stops,
In the delicate field of flowers
That will enviously bloom,
Maidens shall stand anew in pairs,
And like the smoke of incense
That rises in front of you,
From the land, a haze shall shimmer again.
1969
(Translated by Jido Ahn. May 2017)
봄비
이수복 (1924~1986)
이 비 그치면
내 마음 강나루 긴 언덕에
서러운 풀빛이 짙어 오것다.
푸르른 보리밭길
맑은 하늘에
종달새만 무어라고 지껄이것다.
이 비 그치면
시새워 벙글어질 고운 꽃밭 속
처녀애들 짝하여 새로이 서고,
임 앞에 타오르는
향연(香煙)과 같이
땅에선 또 아지랭이 타오르것다.
1969
Source of the Photo: Yangnim Art Gallery
Ahn Translation 
Could the refrain 이 비 그치면 be translated as “if this rain stops”? which would change the sense slightly, but makes for the whole poem hinge on that coming to pass, which creates a tension in the poet, an anxiety for 맑은 하늘.
That’s a good point. I didn’t interpret it as a hypothetical or unreal situation because I felt like the poet was certain that rain will stop at some point. But there is nothing that backs up my interpretation. “If” does seem to create anxiousness that “when” can’t create. I will think about editing it that way. I’m sorry for getting back so late!
Don’t forget to let me know what you come up with.
Reblogged this on Daniel Paul Marshall and commented:
Jido’s choice of poems to translate always brings new Korean poets to the fore & gives me something to practice my Korean, which i am lazy to do.