Poet Kim Hyesoon Receives International Literary Award in Berlin

On July 17, 2025, renowned poet Kim Hyesoon (김혜순), aged 70, was honored with the International Literary Award at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Berlin, Germany. The award recognized her poetry collection, 'Autobiographie des Todes' (죽음의 자서전), which was translated and published by the prominent German literary publisher Fischer in February.

Kim Hyesoon is a leading female poet in South Korea, having begun her literary career in 1979. She has recently gained international recognition, receiving several prestigious literary awards abroad. After completing a tour in Europe, including Germany and the UK, she has returned to Seoul.

The HKW, a public institution under the German Federal Chancellery, focuses on promoting art from non-European countries. Although the HKW International Literary Award is relatively new, having been established in 2009, it has attracted nominations from globally recognized authors.

This year, Romanian writer Mircea Cărtărescu won the award, with finalists including French author Hélène Cixous and Chinese writer Can Xue. Notably, Han Kang (한강), the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate, was a finalist for this award in 2017 for the German edition of her novel 'The Vegetarian' (채식주의자).

The award is well-regarded in the German literary community and is presented to both authors and translators. Kim Hyesoon shares the honor with German translators Park Sul (박술) and Uliana Wolf (울리아나 볼프). The total prize money amounts to €35,000 (approximately 54 million KRW), with €20,000 awarded to the author and €15,000 to the translators.

Interest in Kim Hyesoon is growing worldwide. She previously won the Griffin Poetry Prize in Canada in 2019 and the Sweden's Sigtuna Prize in 2021. Last year, her English edition of 'Winged Pain' (날개 환상통) received the National Book Critics Circle Award, marking the first time a translated poetry collection won this honor.

Additionally, she was named an International Writer by the Royal Society of Literature in 2022 and was elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) in April. Her recognition continues to expand in Europe, with the German edition of 'Autobiographie des Todes' released in February and her invitation to the Berlin Poetry Festival in June 2023.