Epic
백두산
Not translated into English
Cho Ki-chon · 1947
Synopsis
A long epic poem that recreates the battle of Pochonbo, in 1937, fought by Korean partisans against the Japanese occupier. The poet rises there to the summits of Mount Paektu, from where he calls upon the memory of the fighters who had held its forests, then revives their march and their assault. The work links the figure of Kim Il-sung to the mountain, a link that remains at the heart of the country's propaganda.
Context
Published in February 1947, then in book form in 1948, the epic received the first-class national prize and was printed in hundreds of thousands of copies; it was reissued in 1978 and adapted for the cinema. North Korean sources say it was translated into several languages. Its author, buried in the Patriotic Martyrs' Cemetery, is regarded as the founding father of North Korean poetry.
Who it is for
A propaganda epic in Korean, with no French translation; it sheds light on the place of Mount Paektu in the official narrative.
Prizes and reception
The poem earned its author the title of “revolutionary poet”, conferred on him by Kim Jong-il.