As a subcategory of lyric poetry, realism poetry is a relative notion set by the dominant features represented in each poem rather than by some kind of aesthetic principles. First of all, it is a general term for the movements toward the formalization of the contemporaneous realistic concrete than the inside of the poetic subject or the genuine lyricism represented by objects. And, as a kind of relative notion concerning the relative domain such as `romantic poetry` or `modernism poetry%, it also means the poetry of studying the concrete of social reality, and of sensitivity to the reality recognition.` Quite many logical trial-and-errors have been made in the process of defining realism poetry aesthetically. And the ongoing arguments with unclear definition whether realism poetry involves value assessment of some kind or it is restricted to simple methodological notion have been one of the factors to broaden the gap of misunderstanding. If `the reality` that the realism poetry pursues is `the truth`, then the realism poetry can certainly be the name for the lyric poetry. But if it is restricted to the methodological notions, it would fall into one of many ways of expression and be in equal status with other aesthetic methods. Thus, the controversy over realism poetry will be able to be evaluated as an attempt to describe important historical and logical domains of Korean realism poetry. As a poetry that cannot be described with the worldview of the subject excluded, realism poetry is not only a matter of the ways of creation, but also a matter of poetic spirits as a worldview. So, realism poetry accepts the assumption that social experiences can be formalized even in the lyric poetry, the most private genre of all. Lyric poetry as an aesthetic substitute for the gloomy reality of the nation, lyric poetry describing the reality of lives in broad relation to the contemporaneous society with the aesthetic reflection and the recognition of objective social totality, and lyric poetry representing the reality recognition of the lyric subject while expressing the momentary uplifts of life; these would be the minimal definitions of realism poetry within the boundary of compromise. So It can be said that the arguments over realism poetry as above have opened new insight over Korean modern history of poetry. What is need for us to debate over the problematic category of realism poetry is to take poets with aesthetics and the mind toward reality into the central issues of Korean history of poetry. In such a process, broadening the epistemological waves to the modern eternal others (woman, environment, country, body) would also be required.