Kim Sowol

Infobox Korean name
right
hangul=김소월
hanja=金素月
rr=Kim So-wol
mr=Kim So-wŏl

Kim Sowol (1902-1934) is most famous for his contributions to early modern Korean poetry. Throughout his life he wrote his beautifully poignant poetry in a style reminiscent of traditional Korean folk songs. "Azaleas"(진달래 꽃) is one of his most famous poems. Its melancholy themes of departure and loss reminds one of the folk song "Arirang." Because he used the music and tone of folk songs he became known as a “Folk Song Poet.”

Kim Sowol was born in 1902 in Kwaksan, North Pyongan Province. Shortly after he was born his father became insane. This fact although tragic must have affected the poet's early life and eventually led to his own premature death. His grandfather taught him classical Chinese and entered him in the famed Osan Middle School at the age of fifteen. He became a pupil of Kim Ok (김억:金憶), pen-named Anso, who remained for the rest of his life not only his mentor but one who truly understood the growth and abrupt termination of his poetic genius. Kim Sowol’s real name was Chongsik Kim (김정식;金廷湜). He wrote most of the poems contained in The Azaleas, his first and only collection of poetry published in his lifetime. It was written in 1925 while he was still a teenager. After graduating from Paejae High School, he taught for a while in his home town and then he went to Japan to study at a college of commerce. While studying he published several poems in Kaebyok and other literary journals. He continued to publish his poems after his return in such journals as Yongdae till his sudden death. He died in 1934 of what appears to be suicide. His teacher Anso published a volume of selected poems of Sowol in 1935. These included his memoir and a critical essay, in which he points out that the poet's true genius lay in composing lines in the rhythm of Korean folk song, thereby making his poems come directly to the hearts of Koreans. The magical charm of Sowol's lines cannot be fully recaptured in translation, simply because the true spirit of his poetry can only be revealed through the sound of Korean folk tunes.

Publication

*Kim, J 1975 "Lost Love: 99 Poems by Sowol Kim"' Pan-Korea Book Corporation: Seoul.

External links

* Short article with links to some of Kim's poems: http://myhome.naver.com/woomi9/poem/ksw400.htm
* "Azaleas" (an English translation with a link to the original): http://myhome.naver.com/woomi9/poem/ksw310.htm