She was born into the upper-class in Keijo (now Seoul) under the Japanese rule. When she was fifteen, she went to Japan to study under a Japanese modern dancer Ishii Baku against her father's opposition. She distinguished herself as one of the most talented dancers. She developed her own modern dances inspired by Korean folk dances, which had been considered as lowly works. She was supported by Japanese intellectuals including Kawabata Yasunari.
She went to North Korea and got posts in the communist government. She was purged by the party and disappeared in the 1960s. In February 2003, she was rehabilitated and utilized for propaganda by North Korea, who announced that she died in 1969.