|
06 February 2012
One of MBU’s English professors shares his experiences and how he landed at the university.
Dr. John Han stands outside his office in
the Field building.
Photo by Ashley Anthony
“Harvested fields
My dog and I listen to
The raindrops”
Dr. John Han sits at his desk at Missouri Baptist University, scribbling this haiku onto a scrap piece of paper.
Han, professor of English and creative writing and editor of “Integrite: A Faith and Learning Journal” and “Cantos: A Literary and Arts Magazine” at MBU, began his journey into literature and professorship in a village in South Korea.
“I was born in 1956, right after the end of the Korean War, so people, especially those in the countryside, were very poor,” Han said in an email. “We had no luxuries in life—no toys, no doctor’s visits, no vacations.”
This poverty did not stop him from pursuing an education.
During his early years of schooling in South Korea, Han said he became interested in English and American society.
Han followed the advice to “work hard, pursue perfection in everything that you do and be humble.”
Though he is not a native speaker, he developed an expertise of the English language, receiving a bachelor’s in English language and literature at Kookmin University and a master’s in English education at Yonsei University, both schools in Seoul, South Korea.
During his years in South Korea, he not only formed an educational basis but a spiritual one.
“I found Confucian philosophy and customs stifling,” Han said. “In Christianity, I found meaning for life for the first time.”
After taking this step in faith, Han said he then pursued an education in America, first at Kansas State University for a master’s degree and then at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for his doctorate.
His teaching experience stretches from colleges in South Korea to Kansas State University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Nebraska Wesleyan University, until finally settling at MBU in 1999, according to the MBU website.
Along with becoming a respected professor in his home country and the U.S., Han said he has won literary contests and published a couple books of haiku.
With a love for all literature, Han spoke of one of his favorite traditional Japanese poetry forms: haiku.
“I love the brevity of the form,” Han said. “It is to the point yet can convey something deep.”
Haiku has penetrated into the type of literary groups Han has joined, such as two haiku groups in California, three poetry groups in Missouri, the Haiku Society of America and one literary group in Seoul, Han said.
Accomplishing much during his life thus far, Han has had a few bumps in the road, such as a life-threatening surgery during his doctorate years.
Despite this, he has remained productive and will continue to do so, planning to teach college for as long as he can and then travel and listen to bluegrass music, Han said.
“Life is short, so live your everyday life to its fullest extent,” Han said.
Elizabeth Busekrus is a senior majoring in English. Busekrus is a reporter for Timeline Online.
Email: ebusekrus@yahoo.com