Work
Kim started to receive critical acclaim in the 1990s. Her own belief is that her work was recognized at that time in no small part because the 1990s in South Korea were noted for a generally strong wave of women poets and women's poetry.
Kim is the recipient of multiple literary prizes including the Kim Su-yeong Literature Award (1996) for her poem "A Poor Love Machine", the Sowol Poetry Prize (2000), and the Midang Literary Award (2006), which are named after three renowned contemporary Korean poets. Kim was the first woman poet to receive the Kim Su-yeong Literature Award, Midang Literary Award, Contemporary Poetry Award, and Daesan Literary Award. More recently she has also received the Lee Hyoung-Gi Literary Award (2019), the Griffin Poetry Prize (2019), the Cikada Prize, the Samsung Ho-Am Prize in the Arts (2022), U.K Royal Society of Literature International writer (2022), and National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry (2023, she is the first foreign poet laureate who won the award).
Kim Hyesoon was named the T.S. Eliot Memorial Reader at Harvard University Library (2023).
Her poetry collection Phantompain Wings was named poetry book of the year (2023) by the New York Times and Washington Post, The Poetry Society (U.K), among others.
Her poems have been translated into many languages (Swedish, French, German, Polish, Persian, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Danish, etc).
Kim's profile appeared in The New Yorker, and her poems have appeared in The New York Times, Guernica, The Paris Review, The Nation, The Poetry Foundation, The Boston Review, The European Review poetryinternationalweb, and Tricycle.
Kim's poetry collections include: From another star (1981), Father's scarecrow (1985), The Hell of a certain star (1987), Our negative picture (1991), My Upanishad, Seoul (1994), A Poor Love Machine (1997), To the Calendar Factory Manager (2000), A Glass of Red Mirror (2004), Your First (2008), Sorrowtoothpaste Mirrorcream (2011), Blossom, Pig (2016), Autobiography of Death (2016), and Wing Phantom Pain (2019). After Earth Dies, who will Moon Orbit? (2022).
Kim has participated in readings at poetry festivals all over the world.
Kim Hyesoon's poetry was used for Jenny Holzer's exhibit at the Korean National Museum of Modern contemporary Art.
Kim Hyesoon's poetry is characterized by its experimental use of language, surrealist imagery, and exploration of themes such as death, injustice, gender, and the female experience. Her work frequently incorporates elements of feminists literary theory, particularly the concept of écriture féminine (feminine writing), emphasizing women's experiences and perspectives. Her writing often employs unconventional linguistic structures, paradoxes, and imagery to examine relationships between the body, identity, and society.
Recognized for her contributions to contemporary South Korean feminist literature, Kim has gained international attention through translations of her poetry into several languages, including Chinese, Swedish, English, French, German, Dutch, and Danish. Her work frequently explores the intersections of personal and collective experiences, employing surrealism and linguistic experimentation to address social and political issues.
The birdlike Kim weaves a pattern of poems, so strangely compelling and curious, and utterly unlike anything I had heard before. — Sasha Dugdale
Works in English
Added to The &NOW Awards 2: The Best Innovative Writing (&NOW Books, 2013)
Works in Korean
- From Another Star, Munhak kwa chisŏng sa, Seoul, 1981
- Father's Scarecrow, Munhak kwa chisŏng sa, Seoul, 1985
- The Hell of a Certain Star, Ch'ŏngha Seoul, 1988. Reprinted by Munhakdongnae, 1997
- Our Negative Picture, Munhak kwa chisŏng sa, Seoul, 1991
- My Upanishad, Seoul, Munhak kwa chisŏng sa, Seoul, 1994
- A Poor Love Machine, Munhak kwa chisŏng sa, Seoul, 1997
- To the Calendar Factory Manager, Munhak kwa chisŏng sa, Seoul, 2000
- A Glass of Red Mirror, Munhak kwa chisŏng sa, Seoul, 2004
- Your First, Munhak kwa chisŏng sa, Seoul, 2008
- Sorrowtoothpaste Mirrorcream, Munhak kwa chisŏng sa, Seoul 2011
- Blossom, Pig, Munhak kwa chisŏng sa, Seoul 2016
- The Autobiography of Death, Munhaksilheomsil, Seoul 2016
- Phantom Pain of wings, Munhak kwa chisŏng sa, Seoul 2019
- After Earth Dies, who will Moon Orbit?, Munhak kwa chisŏng sa, Seoul 2022
- Death Trilogy, Munhak kwa chisŏng sa, Seoul 2025
- Synchronized Sea Anemone, Nanda, Seoul 2025
Essays
- To Write as a Woman: Lover, Patient, Poet, and You (Seoul: Munhakdongnae, 2002) - Essay on Poetry
- Thus Spoke No (Proems) (Seoul: Munhakdongane, 2016)
- Women, Do Poetry (Seoul: Munhak kwa chisŏng sa, 2017)
- Do Womananimalasia (Seoul: Munhak kwa chisŏng sa, 2019)
- Kim Hyesoon's Words (Seoul: Maumsanchaek, 2023, Interview Book)
- Ventriloquism of the Air (Seoul: Munhak kwa chisŏng sa, 2026)
