Kim Sowol (Korean: 김소월; 1902–1934) was a Korean language poet famous for his contributions to early modern poetry. Throughout his life he wrote his poignant poetry in a style reminiscent of traditional Korean folk songs. The most prized example of this style was "Azaleas (진달래꽃)", the title poem of his sole collection of poetry.Kim Sowol, whose real name was Kim Jeong-sik (김정식; 金廷湜), was born on September 7, 1902 in Kwaksan, North Pyong'an Province, and died on December 24, 1934. Shortly after he was born his father became insane. This fact must have affected the poet's early life and eventually led to his own premature death. His grandfather taught him classical Chinese and entered him in the famed Osan Middle School (also the alma mater of Baek Seok and Kim Eok) at the age of fifteen. There he became a pupil of Kim Eok (김억; 金憶), who remained his mentor for the rest of his life.
In 1923, Kim went to Japan, but he soon returned to Seoul, where he stayed for the next two years attempting to build a career in literature. However, he then returned to his native region, to the town of Namsai, where he worked as the manager of the local office of the Dong-a Ilbo newspaper. Though his poems continued to appear there, their quality deteriorated and Kim's life descended to habitual drinking and a reported suicide in 1934. In 2007, he was listed by the Korean Poets' Association among the ten most important modern Korean poets.
