Korean poetry-“Azaleas” by Kim Sowol is a hallmark of modern Korean poetry. In this poem, the speaker, facing a painful farewell, scatters azalea flowers on the path of a departing lover. Though unable to let go emotionally, they maintain a calm tone, concealing intense sorrow behind dignified words. The poem captures the poignant beauty of restrained love and silent farewell.
1. 진달래 꽃 (Azaleas)
나 보기가 역겨워
가실 때에는
말없이 고이 보내드리오리다.
영변에 약산
진달래꽃
아름 따다 가실 길에 뿌리오리다.
가시는 걸음 걸음
놓인 그 꽃을
사뿐히 즈려 밟고 가시옵소서.
나 보기가 역겨워
가실 때에는
죽어도 아니 눈물 흘리오리다.
2. Azaleas by kim sowol-Translated(Famous Korean poetry)
Azaleas(진달래 꽃)
| 나 보기가 역겨워 가실 때에는 말없이 고이 보내드리오리다. 영변에 약산 진달래꽃 아름 따다 가실 길에 뿌리오리다. 가시는 걸음 걸음 놓인 그 꽃을 사뿐히 즈려 밟고 가시옵소서. 나 보기가 역겨워 가실 때에는 죽어도 아니 눈물 흘리오리다. |
When you leave, feeling disgusted by me, I will silently send you off, quietly. At Yeongbyeon’s gentle hills, I will pluck the azalea flowers, And scatter them on the road you travel. With every step you take, Please step gently on the flowers that fall. Even in death, I will not shed a tear. |
3. Azaleas in Bloom: A Poetic Tribute to Kim Sowol’s Timeless Verse
Experience spring’s delicate charm like never before – through the gentle lens of the season’s first blossoms.
In this video, we bring Kim Sowol’s iconic poem to life with vivid imagery of nature in bloom and a tender musical backdrop.
Filmed during the peak of the flowering season, this artistic interpretation captures the melancholic beauty and quiet strength found in Sowol’s words.
We invite you to feel the emotions behind the verse, as poetry and the spring landscape harmonize in this moving visual tribute.
If you were moved by the restrained farewell in Kim Sowol’s “Azaleas,” continue with Yun Dong-ju’s “Counting the Stars at Night”—a Famous Korean Poetry classic of quiet longing and hope. Read the translated poem below.