Kooseul Kim

The distinguished Korean poet, scholar and translator Kooseul Kim has received the 2024 Babel Prize for Literature, recognizing her enlightened intermediation between languages and cultures through devotion to world literature and intellectual inquiry.

The Babel Prize award ceremony took place on Oct. 11, 2024, during the Suwon International Poetry Festival in Suwon, South Korea. The event attracted a large, diverse audience of fellow poets and scholars, as well as students, showing the esteem for poetry and Kim herself across the country’s generations. Babel Prize committee member Gjekë Marinaj traveled from the United States to present the award, a tribute to Kim’s impact on both Korean and international literary landscapes.

The Babel Prize honors “breakthroughs in literature crossing between languages.” The prize approaches literature as a source of sublime beauty, wisdom and grace, overcoming impediments to harmonious communication through a “deeper, farther-reaching coherency.” Such convictions, resonant with Kim’s professional path and body of work, also received emphasis in her acceptance speech.

“As the story of the Tower of Babel teaches us,” Kim said, “humanity, once fractured and scattered across the world by the self-serving ambitions of individuals and nations, can find its way back to unity through the power of language. Language, which once divided us, has the potential to reconnect us.”

“I deeply believe that through the shared breath of literature, we can transcend our differences,” the writer continued, “fostering a greater sense of peace, understanding, and solace for all humanity.”

Born in Jinhae, South Korea, Kooseul Kim has profoundly influenced Korean literature in each aspect of her multifaceted career. Kim’s extensive literary achievements include the authoring of the poetry collections “Lost Alleys” and “Zero Degree Love,” along with major scholarly texts analyzing the works of T.S. Eliot and the heritage of other poets who have given the world new foms of literary expression.

Kim’s poems have been translated into multiple languages, including English, Italian and Romanian, expanding the reach of Korean writing. Her scholarly research has deepened her culture’s relationship with English-language literature, while also driving meaningful discourse around poetry’s implications.

The writer earned her Ph.D. in English literature from Korea University and has held prominent academic positions, including Dean of the Graduate School and Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hyupsung University. She has been a visiting scholar at UCLA.

Her previous literary honors include South Korea’s 2018 Hongjae Literary Grand Prize and 2018 Suwon Literary Prize. Beyond Korea, she has received the 2019 “National Insignia Prize” from the Vietnam Writers’ Association, Romania’s 2019 “Mihai Eminescu” Gold Medal, and Italy’s 2022 “Premio Internazionale di Poesia” and 2023 “Special Prize of Europa in versi.”

At the ceremony, literary critics acknowledged the depth and relevance of Kim’s work, which interweaves diverse literary traditions in the service of moral advancement. Seoul National University professor Bang Min Ho remarked, “As demonstrated in her poetry book ‘Zero Degree Love,’ Kooseul Kim recognizes the current crisis of a devastated civilization and spirit through an acute awareness of existential circumstances and seeks to embody a vision for the recovery of humanity.” Hanyang University professor Yoo Sungho added, “Kooseul Kim’s poetry book ‘Lost Alleys’ presents an authentic poetic landscape that bridges classical insight and romantic lyricism.” Sungho further highlighted Kim’s “profound engagement with the memory of objects and an acute self-consciousness regarding the essence of poetry.”

In addition to noting the acclaim earned by Kim’s poetry, Professor Emeritus Kim Subok, president of the Society of Korean Poets, noted that the writer’s “precise and lucid translations stand out as a remarkable contribution to the globalization of Korean poetry.”

In her acceptance speech, Kim opened with a poem dedicated to the Babel Prize itself, poignantly contemplating how her childhood “quiet reverence” before her father, a translator of poetry and Buddhist scriptures, evolved into a sense of “time that transcended eras” and “rooted itself within me, growing slowly and relentlessly.” In a literary comprehension of the world, she suggests:

The language of Babel lingers still,
Casting its enigmatic moonlight on the windows of the bustling city,
Whispering the language of another life
Nestled within the yellowed pages, like ancient tree rings.

The writer’s gift of poetry for the occasion lent further weight to her affirmation that the prize “holds profound significance for me, far beyond personal achievement.”

In closing, Kooseul Kim expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the Babel Prize committee, “whose tireless efforts in promoting the value of literature across borders have brought this moment to life. To be recognized by such a prestigious institution is an honor that I will carry with great pride.”

The Babel Prize for Literature, first awarded in 2021, celebrates the ability of translated literature to foster a spirit of service, attentiveness and empathy. Kim’s accomplishments exemplify this ethos, showcasing how literature can benevolently span disparate worlds.

As the current Chair of the Changwon KC International Literary Prize Committee and the Suwon KS International Poetry Prize Committee, Kim continues to shape the future of literature in Korea and beyond. Her influence as a poet, scholar and translator extends into various literary communities, where she advocates for literature’s importance for cultural dialogue.

She is an advisor for the T.S. Eliot Society of Korea, for which she has also served as president. She is also an advisor for the Society of East-West Comparative Literature, for which she has served as vice president. She has contributed the “Kim Kooseul Column” to Kyunggi Newspaper and has provided English translations of Korean poetry for the quarterly Suwon Literature.

The 2024 Babel Prize for Literature awarded to Kooseul Kim recognizes not only her outstanding body of creative work but also her promotion of the value of literary studies and translation. Her still-growing legacy serves as a testament to language’s and literature’s enduring capacity for inspiring awe and enhancing both regional mindfulness and cross-cultural ties.

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