Ch’oe Haksong (known by his penname Ch’oe Sŏhae) was born in in Seongjin in North
Hamgyong Province in 1901 as the only son of a peasant family. He was raised by his mother
after his father left the family to settle in Kando (Jiandao, modern-day Yanbian). He received no
formal schooling other than his attendance at Seongjin School for three years in his youth.
Ch’oe moved to Kando in 1918, where he studied literature informally while living nomadically
and working. He left Kando in 1923 to work in Hoeryong as a repairman. Although he had
published some poems to little reception in 1918, he made his broader literary debut when his
short story ”Home Country” (고국(故國)) was chosen by the Choson Mundan (조선문단(朝鮮
文壇)) magazine for publication. He continued his writing activities through the publication of
“Exodus” (탈출기), featuring the struggles of a couple, mother, and young family who moved
to Kando from Korea. He is best known for his works depicting the lives of poor laborers in both
Kando and Hamgyeong, as well as for his pioneering work in the “singeyonghyang” (신영한)
genre of class-conscious Korean literature preceding socialist literature that blended styles of
romanticism and naturalism to viscerally portray class conflict and workers’ perspectives
Starting in 1925, Ch’oe was also politically active as a member of the KAPF (Korean Artists
Proletarian Federation). From 1927 to 1931, he worked as a reporter and magazine editor for
publications such as the (현대평론사(現代評論社)), Changan ≪장한 長恨≫ (a magazine for
kisaengs), and Joongae Newspaper (중외일보(中外日報) .
He passed away in 1932 from his stomach illness.
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