Cho Ki-chon
Soviet-born North Korean poet and founding father of North Korean poetry
Cho Ki-chon (6 November 1913 – 31 July 1951) was a poet born in the Russian Far East to poor Korean peasants who later became a foundational figure in North Korean literature. His work, heavily shaped by Soviet influence, blended lyrical epic poetry with socialist realism, a style that came to define the country’s literary scene. He earned the nickname "Korea's Mayakovsky" for his break with older literary traditions and his dedication to communist ideals, and after Kim Jong Il mentioned him during a 2001 trip to Russia, North Korean media began calling him the "Pushkin of Korea."
Cho grew up near Ussuriysk in a region full of Korean independence activists. He drew inspiration from a fellow Korean-Soviet writer who combined nationalism with socialist principles, giving Cho a class-conscious worldview. After studying at a Korean teachers college and joining the Komsomol, he planned to attend Moscow University but was robbed at a train station in Omsk. Stranded, he worked on a collective farm until the rector of Omsk University, Aleksandr Sergeevitch Slivko, admitted him. From 1933 to 1937, he studied literature there, graduating with top marks despite not being fluent in Russian at first.
He then taught at the Korean Pedagogical Institute in Vladivostok until 1937, when all ethnic Koreans were forcibly moved to Central Asia, relocating the institute to Kzyl-Orda in the Kazakh SSR. In 1938, he tried to enroll at the Moscow Literature University but was arrested for violating restrictions on Koreans. He returned to the institute, working there until 1941. Around this time, he married Kim Hae-sŏn, and their son Yurii was born in 1939.
During World War II, Cho served in desk roles for the Soviet 25th Army and the Pacific Navy, writing propaganda leaflets for the Red Army to distribute in Korea. He likely translated Kim Il Sung’s first post-liberation speech in October 1945 into Korean. That year, Soviet authorities dispatched him to North Korea to help shape its cultural institutions along Soviet lines. He followed party orders to immerse himself in the masses, visiting factories and farms to write poems based on real experiences, a task many other writers avoided.
His early works, *Mt. Paektu* (1947) and *Land* (1946), became models for North Korean literature, praising Kim Il Sung’s guerrilla activities and promoting his leadership. Cho also wrote *Whistle*, a love poem that later became a popular song in both North and South Korea. He worked as a correspondent and translator for the Soviet Red Army’s Korean-language paper and translated poets like Mayakovsky, Gribachev, and Jambyl Jabayev.
During the Korean War, Cho produced wartime propaganda poems. He died in an American bombing raid on 31 July 1951. His legacy endures in North Korea, where he is still celebrated as a national poet.
Quick Facts
- Other Names
- "Korea's Mayakovsky" · "Pushkin of Korea"
- Birth Date
- 1913-11-06
- Birth Place
- Ael'tugeu, Vladivostok, Russia
- Death Date
- 1951-07-31
- Death Place
- Pyongyang, North Korea
- Resting Place
- Patriotic Martyrs' Cemetery
- Occupation
- Poet
- Language
- Korean
- Education
- Gorky Omsk State Pedagogical University
- Genres
- Epic poetry, lyric poetry
- Subject
- Cult of personality of Kim Il Sung <!-- or
- Movement
- Socialist realism
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Cho Ki-chon was born to poor Korean peasants in the village of Ael'tugeu not far from Ussuriysk in the Vladivostok District of the Russian Far East on 6 November 1913. The Pacific region of the Soviet Union, where he lived, was a center for Korean independence activists. He particularly drew literary inspiration from a fellow Korean writer living in the Soviet Union who – in believing in national emancipation by upholding socialist principles – had already written about anti-Japanese guerrillas. Thus he acquired a nationalistic and class conscious worldview in his literature. Cho studied at the Korean Teachers College in Voroshilov-Ussuriysk between 1928 and 1931. During that time, he was also a member of the communist youth league of the Soviet Union, Komsomol. Cho was initially supposed to enroll at the Moscow University, but he was robbed at a train station in Omsk. With no money, Cho was stranded and had to work at a kolkhoz in Omsk for the summer to get some. The rector of the Omsk University, Aleksandr Sergeevitch Slivko was touched by his fate and decided to admit him in the university. Thus, from 1933 until his graduation in 1937, he attended the Faculty of Literature of the Gorky Omsk State Pedagogical University. Although he was not fluent in Russian upon entering the university, he graduated with excellent marks, and his time spent there amplified his Russian and Soviet sides. He returned to the Far East and took up teaching responsibilities at the Korean Pedagogical Institute in Vladivostok until all ethnic Koreans were forcibly moved to Central Asia, and the Institute along with Cho were relocated to Kzyl-Orda, Kazakh SSR in 1937. The following year Cho went to Moscow and tried to enroll at the Moscow Literature University, only to find himself arrested on the spot for breaking the law confining Koreans to Central Asia. He then returned to the Institute in Kzyl-Orda and worked there until 1941. In the late 1930s, Cho married Kim Hae-sŏn. The two had a son, Yurii Cho, born in 1939. Between 1942 and 1943, Cho served in the Soviet 25th Army's headquarters in Voroshilov-Ussuriysk in desk duty, and in a similar assignment in the Pacific Navy in Khabarovsk between 1943 and 1945 and in the First Far Eastern Front from October 1945. A part of his job was to write propaganda leaflets spread by the Soviet Red Army in Korea.
Reader's Guide
Cho Ki-chon was born in the Russian Empire (the village of Ael'tugeu near Ussuriysk in the Vladivostok District). Cho did serve in the Pacific Navy in Khabarovsk between 1943 and 1945, according to the source; the flagged problem that he did not serve in the Pacific Navy is incorrect based on the source. He served in the Soviet 25th Army's headquarters (1942–1943), in the Pacific Navy (1943–1945), and in the First Far Eastern Front (from October 1945).
Did You Know?
- Cho Ki-chon was nicknamed 'Korea's Mayakovsky' after the Soviet poet Vladimir Mayakovsky.
- His most famous work is Mt. Paektu (1947), a lyrical epic praising Kim Il Sung's guerrilla activities.
- Cho died in an American bombing raid during the Korean War.
- He was born in the village of Ael'tugeu near Ussuriysk in the Russian Far East.
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