56th Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards Poetry Commendation Award winner Ketevani Barbakadze

Poetry Commendation Prize winner Ketevani Barbakadze / Courtesy of Ketevani Barbakadze

Cover of Park So-ran's poetry collection "Words Close to the Heart" / Courtesy of Changbi Publishers

Born in Georgia, Ketevani Barbakadze, winner of this year's Commendation Prize in poetry section, grew up an avid reader and writer with a deep interest in translation.

“Whenever I read a translated poem that moved me, I would wonder: How would this line feel in the breath of its own language? How much of the poet’s sincerity was conveyed, and how much remained behind? Not because the translator did a poor job, but because every language expresses emotion in its own unique way — and something is always lost in crossing from one to another,” she said.

As a child, she was also fascinated by the mythologies of different cultures — a curiosity that eventually led her to discover Korea and the rich shamanic traditions of Jeju Island.

“In school, our world history curriculum placed a strong emphasis on Greek mythology but offered almost nothing about East Asian traditions,” she recalled. “As part of a freshman project for my world history course, I decided to explore that missing half of the world’s imagination. That search led me to Jeju Island and its mythology — a place where shamanic traditions are woven into everyday life, and where gods are not distant rulers but ancestral, local and relational, embodying the spirits of families, villages and natural forces. Jeju’s myths captivated me because, in those stories, humans and gods exist on a continuum; the divine is not unreachable but interwoven with human experience.”

That early fascination later inspired her to focus on Korean studies for her bachelor’s thesis. In 2021, she came to Korea through the Global Korea Scholarship program to study Korean at Daejeon University.

She went on to pursue a master’s degree in Korean Studies at Jeju National University, where her thesis compared the mythology of Greek goddesses with that of Jeju Island.

Reflecting on her encounter with poet Park So-ran’s work, Barbakadze said, “I remember reading 'Absence' for the first time, and then sitting in silence with myself for a long while after. This poem brought me a strange comfort — the feeling of being understood by a voice that did not know me.”

“Absence” is among the poems she translated for the award.

“The poems I chose do not offer warmth in the traditional sense, but they are honest in their loneliness — and it is in that honesty that I find comfort. I wanted to share that feeling of finding understanding in someone else’s words with readers who might not know the Korean language,” she added.

Now working as a brand manager at a company in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Barbakadze said the award has motivated her to pursue literary translation more seriously.

“Until now, I have translated poems and stories for my own pleasure, sometimes sharing fragments on social media,” she said. “But this experience has given me the courage to take more confident steps toward becoming a professional literary translator. If the opportunity arises, I am more eager than ever to take it.”