The purpose of this paper is to study the characteristics of self-expression in poetic text. The importance of self-expression in Korean education is increasing, and many Korean education researches emphasize functionality and efficiency in self-expression. However, this study emphasize that the most important thing is the growth of the learners through self-expression when we pay attention to self-expression ability in Korean education. It is because it is more important to reflect on oneself, to deepen the awareness of oneself, and to expand inside of oneself through self-expression process. Poetry is a typical self-expression genre. In the process of writing poetry, a exploration for oneself is made and the inner side of oneself is expressed by way of the exploration. And these characteristics of poetry are often expressed in the way of `confession`. Therefore, in this paper, we analyzed the aspect of confession in order to examine the characteristics of self-expression in poetry. In the process of poetic self-expression, confessions are typified by authenticity, vagueness, rationalization and disclosure. According to each type, the attitude of confession, the object and personality of self-expression, and the depth meaning of self-expression are divided. In the subsequent study, it will be possible to design a path for self-expression of learners in poetry education, focusing on the type of self-expression.