deaths
July 31, 1951
Cho Ki-chon, North Korean poet (born 1913)

Cho Ki-chon
Cho Ki-chon was a Russian-born North Korean poet. He is regarded as a national poet and "founding father of North Korean poetry" whose distinct Soviet-influenced style of lyrical epic poetry in the socialist realist genre became an important feature of North Korean literature. He was nicknamed "Korea's Mayakovsky" after the writer whose works had had an influence on him and which implied his breaking from the literature of the old society and his commitment to communist values. Since a remark made by Kim Jong Il on his 2001 visit to Russia, North Korean media has referred to Cho as the "Pushkin of Korea".
July 31
July 31 is the 212th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 153 days remain until the end of the year.