Pak Se-yong (7 July 1902 – 28 February 1989) was a North Korean poet and politician, best known for writing the lyrics of "Aegukka", the national anthem of North Korea.

Pak Se-yong
Born7 July 1902
Died28 February 1989(1989-02-28) (aged 86)
Pyongyang, North Korea
Resting placePatriotic Martyrs' Cemetery[1]
NationalityNorth Korean
Occupation(s)Poet, politician
Known forWriting the lyrics of North Korea's national anthem
Political partyKorean Workers'
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl
박세영
Hancha
朴世永
Revised RomanizationBak Seyeong
McCune–ReischauerPak Seyŏng

Early life

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Pak was a native of Dumo-ri, Outer old Seoul in what is now Seongdong District, Seoul, South Korea.[1] When he was in his third year in Paichai High School [ko], he made a Doujinshi Saenuri(New world) that was shared among people who shared his dreams as a person involved in literature, and after graduating he enrolled in Yeonhi professional school (Modern day Yonsei University) but he soon dropped out and studied in Shanghai.[2] In Shanghai, he worked as the china correspondent for Yeomgunsa (焰群社), a socialist cultural organization that was formed in Korea by song young lee ho and lee jeok hyo, whose aim was to research and distribute culture that liberates the proletariat.[2] Eventually, after joining the Korean Artists' Proletarian Federation in 1925,[2] he started writing progressive poetry.[1] From 1923 to 1943, he edited the youth magazine byeolnara with his comrades, and released children's novels and reviews as part of the youth literature movement, and he produced his first collection of poems called Sanjebi.[2] Post-1945, his work began to have a realist trend.[2] In 1946, he crossed over to the Soviet-controlled northern half of the Korean Peninsula,[3] allegedly as a result of the foreign occupation of the south, shattering his hopes.[1]

In politics

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Pak became involved in North Korean politics from the country's earliest days. In 1948, he became a member of the Supreme People's Assembly. In May 1954, he was named a member of the central committee of the General League of Culture and Art. In October 1956, he was elevated to the standing committee of the Writers League. In 1961, he became a member of the central committee of the newly created Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.[4]

Poetry

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Pak finished writing the lyrics of "Aegukka" in June 1947.[3] Other representative works of his include the lyric poems "The sunrise at Poch'onbo" (1962), "History of Millim" (1962), and "When a fire is lit in the heart" (1963).[4] His other famous song was The Glorious Motherland.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Writer remembered with national anthem". Pyongyang Times. The Pyongyang Times. Retrieved 18 March 2021.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ a b c d e 박세영. Encyclopedia of Korean Culture.
  3. ^ a b "北, 월북시인 박세영 생애 재조명". Tongil News. 2002-06-20. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
  4. ^ a b "Pak Se-yong". Korean Affairs Report No. 304: North Korea, Biographical Dictionary (Part II) (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 1983-08-24. p. 528. Archived from the original on June 26, 2013. Retrieved 2013-05-28.