Kim Sowol

Born Kim Jeong-sik in North Pyongan Province, he is better known by his pen name Sowol. He studied at Osan School and Paichai, began publishing poetry in the early 1920s under the influence of his mentor Kim Eok, and published his only lifetime collection, Azaleas, in 1925.

A place in Korean culture

Kim Sowol is a central figure in modern Korean lyric poetry. He transformed folk-like rhythm and everyday Korean speech into modern verse, making poems such as “Azaleas,” “Sanyuhwa” and “Invocation of the Spirit” enduring reference points in Korean literary culture.

What else to know

His poems often stay with readers because sound comes before explanation. Short phrases, repeated endings and song-like pacing make the feeling return even when only a few lines are remembered.

The story behind it

More than a century after Azaleas appeared in 1925, many of Kim Sowol’s poems are remembered almost as spoken rhythm before they are analyzed as literature. Dear Now returns to the repetitions of “Sanyuhwa” to ask why some Korean words remain in the mouth for generations.

Sources & context

2026-09-30

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