Kim Haengsook was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1970. She studied Korean language education at Korea University, where she also earned her master's and doctoral degree in Korean literature. She made her literary debut in 1999 when the journal Hyundae Munhak published “Ppul” and a few other poems. She is primarily associated with the Korean Futurism school of poetry, which emerged in the 2000s when young poets began writing experimental works that broke with the lyrical tradition of South Korea. Kim published her first poetry collection Sachungi in 2003, which earned critical and popular acclaim for its unconventional style and put her alongside other Korean Futurist poets like Hwang Byungsng, Kim Kyung Ju, Kim Min-jeong, and Ha Jaeyoun. She won the 9th Nojak Literature Prize in 2009, the inaugural Jeon Bonggeon Literary Award in 2015, and the 16thMidang Literary Award in 2016. She was an editor for the quarterly journal World Literature, and currently teaches Korean literature at Kangnam University.
Writing
Kim Haengsook's work has been referred to as “a symptom of contemporary poetry” that “achieved a new kind of lyricism” by writer and literary critic Lee Jangwook. Starting with her first poetry collection Sachungi, the strangeness and ambiguity of her poems challenged readers to find new ways of interpreting them other than simply looking for meaning or images. In a commentary on her second poetry collection Ibyeoreui neungryeok , literary critic Shin Hyeong-cheol argues that Kim “does not write with intuition but with the mind of a programmer” who has “the ability to enter into a particular world of feeling and to invite readers into that world.” Kim's language is open to various interpretations. It has been described as “sliding or floating across the signifier and the signified.” Literary critic Shin Hyeong-cheol notes that Kim “breaks down the world into pieces of feeling and allows the self to become a vessel for each feeling. Her poetry is freely fantastical and unegotistically objective.” Kim's third poetry collection Tainui uimi shows a slight change in style. The world of feeling she portrays in previous poems remains the same, but she focuses on the sensations born from the relationship between the self and the Other. The self strives to reach the Other, fails, and accepts a fate of solitude.
Works
Poetry Collections
1. 『사춘기』 Adolescence. Moonji, 2003. 2. 『이별의 능력』 The Ability to Part. Moonji, 2007. 3. 『타인의 의미』 The Significance of Others. Minumsa, 2010. 『에코의 초상』 The Portrait of Echoes. Moonji, 2014.
Criticism
1. 『문학의 새로운 이해』 A New Understanding of Literature. Somyung Books, 2004. 2. 『문학이란 무엇이었는가』 What Was Literature? Somyung Books, 2005. 3. 『창조와 폐허를 가로지르다』 Crossing Creation and Ruin. Somyung Books, 2005.
Essay Collections
1. 『마주침의 발명』 The Invention of Encounters. Kephoi Books, 2009. 2. 『에로스와 아우라』 Eros and Aura. Minumsa, 2012.
Works in Translation{{Cite web|url=http://library.klti.or.kr/node/111|title=김행숙 Digital Library of Korean Literature (LTI Korea)|website=library.klti.or.kr|language=en|access-date=2017-12-09}}
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Awards
1. 2009: 9th Nojak Literature Prize 2. 2015: 1st Jeon Bonggeon Literary Award 3. 2016: 16th Midang Literary Award
