style. Now he strove to incorporate the pain, death, and even monotony of daily existence into his poetry without maintaining a standard of sentimental and lyrical quality. His poetry collections, Wild Peach Blossoms (Sandohwa) and Orchids and Other Poems (Nan. Gita) encapsulate his artistic aim to depict the shifting human response to both the joys and sorrows of life. His later poems, however, represent a return to the use of vivid colloquial language as the medium through which to express the color and vitality of local culture. His collection of poems from this later stylistic phase, Fallen Leaves in Gyeongsang-do (Gyeongsang-doui garangnip) provides the artistic forum through which he is able to further explore his earlier questions of the relationship between light and dark, happiness and despair, and life and death. Pak's poetry, especially his later work, reveals a fervent love for life that does not wane despite his diligent acknowledgment of the ever-present threat of the end. He is celebrated for the cautious optimism of his work and his ability to subtly internalize conflicts of empiric reality in his deceptively localized and dialectal poetry. Awards and legacy Pak's awards include the Freedom Literature Awards, May Literature and Art Awards, the Seoul City Culture Awards (1969), and the Moran Medal of the Order of Civil Merit (1972). In 2007, he was listed by the Korean Poets' Association among the ten most important modern Korean poets. Pak lived in a house in Wonhyoro-dong from 1965 until his death in 1978. The Seoul Municipal Government had expressed interest in preserving the house as a cultural heritage asset, but his son had to sell it to a real estate developer to cover debts in 2002, and the developer demolished the building in 2004. The demolition, along with similar incidents or near-misses involving the old houses of other cultural figures such as Choe Nam-seon and Seo Jeong-ju around the same time, sparked increasing public interest in the issue of cultural heritage preservation. Bibliography Adapted from: Cheongrokjip 《靑鹿集》 (Seoul: Uryu Munhwasa [乙酉文化社], 1946. .) With Cho Chi-hun and Pak Tu-jin. Sandohwa 《山桃花》 (Daegu: Yong-ung Chulpansa [英雄出版社], 1955. .) Boratbit Somyo 《보랏빛 素描》 (Seoul: Sinheung Chulpansa [新興出版社], 1958. .) Nan. Gita 《蘭·其他》 (Seoul: Singu Chulpansa [新丘文化社], 1959. .) Sansaeal Mulsaeal 《산새알 물새알》 (Seoul: Munwonsa [文苑社], 1961. .) Guwonui Yeon-ga 《久遠의 戀歌》 (Seoul: Gumunsa [歐文社], 1962. .) With Kim Nam-jo. Cheongdam 《晴曇》 (Seoul: Iljogak [一潮閣], 1964. .)