Pak was born in Kyŏnggi Province in 1905. He graduated from Baejae High School (배재고등보통하교) in 1916 and from Kyongsong Law School (경성법학전문학교) in 1923. He made his literary debut with his poem “God’s Wine” (신의 주(酒) in the Donga Ilbo in 1923. Upon graduation, he began to work as a reporter for the Choson Ilbo and became a member of the Korean Proletarian Artists League (KAPF) in 1926. He joined the “Group of Nine” (구인회), a collective of artists promoting modernist aesthetics in their work, in 1932. Pak then moved to Manchuria and became a department head for the pro-Japanese newspaper the Manseon Ilbo (만선일보). He defected to North Korea after liberation.
Pak became a prominent voice for North Korea literature as the head of Journalism at Kim Il Sung University in 1949 and a vice chairman of the Joseon Writers’ Alliance in 1957. He was purged in 1966 by the North Korean government, after which his activities are unknown.
Pak is known for work based strongly in the expression of human emotion and the romantic nature of youth. He is known for his poetry collection “Yeosusicho” (여수시초), published in 1940, and poems such as “The Spring of Victory” (승리의 봄) and “The Day the Author Leaves” (저자에 가는 날).
For more information see: