Kim So-Wol

Kim So-Wol

 

(pseudonym of Kim Chong-sik). Born Oct. 16, 1903, in the village of Namsan-dong, district of Kwangsan; died Dec. 24, 1935, in the village of Pyongjin-dong, district of Ku-song. Korean poet. Son of a peasant.

Kim So-wol’s poems depict the natural beauty of the Korean countryside and glorify man at work, for example, “On the Balk” (1924) and “Fresh Morning.” In such lyrics as “Golden Feather Grass” (1922), life-affirming motifs shine through a veil of sadness. Kim So-wol created a new form of free verse in the in the folk song style, and many of his poems have been set to music.

WORKS

Kim So-wol si sonjip. Pyongyang, 1955.
In Russian translation:
Tsvetok bagul’nika. Moscow, 1962.

REFERENCES

Eremenko, L., and V. Ivanova. Koreiskaia literatura. Moscow, 1964.
Hyon, Chon-ho. “Kim So-wol-kwa kuui si munhak.” In the collection Hyondae chakkaron, vol. 1. Pyongyang, 1961.