Born into a businessman's family in Pyongyang, he studied at a higher normal school in Pyongyang in the period of the Japanese colonial rule over Korea.

He then studied literary at a foreign university, after being expelled from the school for the reason that he joined a school strike.

His first work was the short novel "Thosongrang" written in 1936.

In the full-length travel sketches "Nomamanri" he wrote in China in 1945, he highly spoke of President Kim Il Sung as the "Sun of Korea" and the anti-Japanese guerrillas as the "Sun's Unit".

Back home after the country's liberation, he was honored with the audience of Kim Il Sung on several occasions.

Being active as a member of the Executive Committee of the General Federation of Art of North Korea, director of the International Culture Department and chairman of the South Phyongan Provincial Federation of Art, he authored drama "Thunder" in 1946, which features the great personality of Kim Il Sung displayed in the victorious Pochonbo battle conducted during the anti-Japanese armed struggle, as well as many other dramas, novels, dramatic poems and essays.

On August 28, 1946, the day when the inaugural meeting of the Workers' Party of North Korea was held, Kim Il Sung enjoyed the drama "Thunder", giving high appreciation of it.

As the Korean War (June 25, 1950-July 27, 1953) broke out, he joined the Korean People's Army as a war writer and wrote many works, including diaries "From Seoul to Suwon", "We Won", "En Route to Guerrilla Zone in Mt. Jiri", "In Trench on Bank of Raktong River" and "Sea Is Seen". The works inspired the servicepersons with heroism and conviction of victory in the war.

When he was encircled by the enemy forces while on a combat duty at a guerrilla unit in Mt. Jiri, he died a heroic death by exploding a bundle of grenades and shouting "Long Live General Kim Il Sung!"