Ilyeon Kim was born in 1955 in Daegu, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea.
After graduating from the College of Education at Kyungpook National University, she worked as a middle school teacher and later as a reporter for Maeil Shinmun, a daily newspaper based in Daegu.
Having published poems from the age of 15, Kim became a sijo (a form of Korean traditional poetry) poet after being introduced in the journal, Sijo munhak (Sijo Literature), in 1980.
Brother Anthony of Taizé, who also goes by his Korean name An Sonjae, is a literature scholar and translator and is professor emeritus of English language and literature at Sogang University in Seoul.
