Kim Yi-deum was born in Jinju, South Korea. She studied German literature at Pusan National University, and earned her doctoral degree in Korean literature from Gyeongsang National University. In 2001, Kim made her literary debut by publishing her poems in the quarterly journal Poesie. She is the author of the poetry collections A Stain in the Shape of a Star, Cheer up, Femme Fatale, The Unspeakable Lover, Song of Berlin, Dahlem, Hysteria, Drifting Black Hair, and Wearing an Undried T-shirt; the novel Blood Sisters; the essay collections Friends of Every Nationality, Dear Slovenia, and Goodbye, My Little Table; and the collection of critical essays A Study on Modern Korean Feminist Poetry. Her works Cheer up, Femme Fatale, Hysteria, and Blood Sisters are available in English translation. As part of the international program of the Arts Council Korea, Kim lectured on Korean literature at the Free University of Berlin in 2012 and at the University of Ljubljana in 2015. She has received numerous awards, including the Poetry & the World Literary Award, the Kim Daljin Changwon Award, the Poem of the Year Prize, the 22nd Century Literary Award, the Kim Chunsoo Poetry Award, the National Translation Award, and the Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize. Kim Yi-deum is currently Professor of Creative Writing at Hanyang University.
