Cho Ki-chon

In this Korean name, the family name is Cho.

Cho Ki-chon
Portrait of Cho
Born(1913-11-06)6 November 1913
Ael'tugeu, Vladivostok District, Russian Empire
Died31 July 1951(1951-07-31) (aged 37)
Pyongyang, North Korea
Resting placePatriotic Martyrs' Cemetery
Nickname
  • "Korea's Mayakovsky"
  • "Pushkin of Korea"
OccupationPoet
LanguageKorean
NationalityKorean
Alma materGorky Omsk State Pedagogical University
GenresEpic poetry, lyric poetry
SubjectCult of personality of Kim Il Sung
Literary movementSocialist realism
Notable worksMt. Paeketu,
Whistle
Notable awards
  • Festival Prize
  • Order of the National Flag, 2nd class (1951)
  • National Prize, 1st class for Mt. Paektu (1948) and Korea is Fighting (1952)
SpouseKim Hae-sŏn (m. late 1930s)
ChildrenYurii Cho
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl
조기천[1]
Hancha
趙基天[2]
Revised RomanizationJo Gicheon[3]
McCune–ReischauerCho Kich'ŏn[4]
Literature portal

Cho Ki-chon (Korean: 조기천; 6 November 1913 – 31 July 1951) was a Russian-born North Korean poet. He is regarded as a national poet[5] and "founding father of North Korean poetry"[6] whose distinct Soviet-influenced style of lyrical epic poetry in the socialist realist genre became an important feature of North Korean literature. He was nicknamed "Korea's Mayakovsky" after the writer whose works had had an influence on him and which implied his breaking from the literature of the old society and his commitment to communist values.[6] Since a remark made by Kim Jong Il on his 2001 visit to Russia, North Korean media has referred to Cho as the "Pushkin of Korea".[7]

Cho was dispatched by the Soviet authorities to liberated Korea when the Red Army entered in 1945. By that time, he had substantial experience with Soviet literature and literature administration. The Soviets hoped that Cho would shape the cultural institutions of the new state based on the Soviet model. For the Soviets, the move was successful, and Cho did not only that but also significantly developed socialist realism as it would become the driving force of North Korean literature and arts.[8]

Cho offered some of the earliest contributions to Kim Il Sung's cult of personality.[9] His most famous work is Mt. Paektu (1947), a lyrical epic praising Kim Il Sung's guerrilla activities and promoting him as a suitable leader for the new North Korean state. Other notable works by Cho include Whistle, a seemingly non-political love poem which was later adapted as a popular song that is known in both North and South Korea.

During the Korean War, Cho wrote wartime propaganda poems. He died during the war in an American bombing raid. He and his works are still renowned in North Korean society.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Interrelation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Review was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Foundation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Gabroussenko 2005, p. 55.
  5. ^ 기획 기사 [9.9절 방북취재-6]<백두산은 역시 혁명의 성산> (in Korean). Korean American National Coordinating Council. 23 September 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  6. ^ a b Gabroussenko 2005, p. 56.
  7. ^ David-West, Alzo (May 2013). "Review Essays: Tatiana Gabroussenko, Soldiers on the Cultural Front: Developments in the Early Literary History of North Korean Literature and Literary Policy". The Comparatist. 37: 298, 304 n4. doi:10.1353/com.2013.0012. S2CID 162500227.
  8. ^ Gabroussenko 2005, p. 85.
  9. ^ Gabroussenko 2005, p. 86.