Pondering Stars on the Pond

"Pondering Stars on the Pond possesses a subtlety that renders it at once romantic, sensual, melancholic, and mystical. Through that mysticism, Junghwa Splendor Kim reaches beyond the reader to touch the universe itself —God, the celestial bodies, nature, philosophy, and her innermost self. Her poems, rich in musicality and orchestrated by silence, build a bridge between the universe of poetry and our shared human existence, illuminated by her singular sensibility.”

Felipe Hugueño, Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies, Virginia Wesleyan University.

"This collection successfully blends Oriental aesthetics with Spanish sensuality, inviting readers into Junghwa Splendor Kim’s rich and intricate world, where the intimate and the external engage in a compelling dialogue of discerning minds, offering a resonant feast for the senses."

Alejandro Varderi, Professor of Hispanic Studies, The City University of New York (CUNY).

Junghwa Splendor Kim, born in South Korea, majored in Spanish and French at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Captivated by Nobel laureates Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral, she relocated to Chile –a land radiating with poetry– where she earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in Latin American literature at the Universidad de Chile. Now based in Santiago, she works as a KBS correspondent and translator, navigating Korean, English, Spanish, and French –the languages in which she has published poetry collections and short stories. Her recent collection, Pondering Stars on the Pond, features English poems woven with nostalgia, melancholy, and wonder at life’s beauty.