Chong Chol
Chong Chol
(pen name, Songgang). Born Jan. 27, 1536, in Seoul; died Feb. 7, 1594, on the island of Kanghwa-do. Korean poet.
Chong Choi left seven volumes of poetry and prose known as Songgang Chip, which were written in hanmun. His Songgang Kasa, his first collection of Korean-language poetry, includes more than 80 sijo (short lyrical poems) and five kasa (narrative poems). His most famous works are his kasa, including Longing for My Beloved and Still Longing for My Beloved (1585–87). Chong Choi’s works are distinguished for their range, expressiveness, and dynamism. His kasa, which were written in the lyrical folk-song tradition, helped writers of the following centuries justify the writing of poetry in their native tongue under bilingual conditions.
WORKS
In Russian translation:In Koreiskaia klassicheskaia poeziia. Translated by A. Akhmatova. Moscow, 1958.
“Lirika.” Inostrannaia literatura, 1974, no. 5. Introduction and translation by A. Zhovtis.
Odinokii zhuravl’. [Moscow, 1975. Introductory article by L. Kontsevich.]
In English translation:
In Anthology of Korean Poetry. New York, 1964. Compiled and translated by P. H. Lee.
REFERENCES
Lee, P. H. “The Songgang Kasa of Chong Choi.” T’oung Pao, vol. 49. Leiden, 1961. Pages 149–93.Kim Sam Bui. Song-gang ka-sa yon’gu. Pyongyang, 1956.
In the collection Kojon chak-ka-ron, part 1. Pyongyang, 1958.