Fruit of Life

Kim Myeong-sun

Kim Myeong-sun (1896-c.1954) is Korea's first published woman writer. Fruit of Life: Poems (생명의 과실: 김명순 시선) is the first book-length, Korean-to-English translation of her poetry. Kim’s poems offer a raw portrait of 1920s–30s Korea, driven by her personal experiences of sexual assault, misogynistic journalism and criticism, displacement, and poverty during the Japanese colonial occupation (1910–1945). Alongside feminist critique, Kim also writes about sapphic desire, familial affection, and nature, in styles that range from the traditional to the experimental. While Kim’s work was erased from the canon by Korea’s misogynistic literary establishment, Fruit of Life celebrates the legacy of Kim’s radical, versatile poetry, which paved the way for contemporary Korean women writers.