Ketevani Barbakadze, a Georgian-born scholar and translator, has been awarded the Poetry Commendation Prize at the 56th Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards. Born and raised in Georgia, Barbakadze developed a passion for reading, writing, and translation from an early age, which eventually led her to discover Korean literature and culture.
Barbakadze's interest in translation stems from her deep curiosity about how emotions and meaning travel across languages. "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?" she explained. "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."
Her fascination with different cultures began during her childhood through mythology. As she recalled, "In school, our world history curriculum placed a strong emphasis on Greek mythology but offered almost nothing about East Asian traditions." This gap in her education sparked her curiosity about the missing perspectives in world history. As part of a freshman project for her world history course, she decided to explore what she called "that missing half of the world's imagination."
This academic journey led her to discover Jeju Island and its rich shamanic traditions. "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," Barbakadze said. She was particularly captivated by how Jeju's mythology differed from Western traditions: "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."
This early fascination with Korean culture eventually became the focus of her academic career. She concentrated on Korean studies for her bachelor's thesis, and in 2021, she came to Korea through the prestigious Global Korea Scholarship program to study Korean at Daejeon University. She continued her education by pursuing a master's degree in Korean Studies at Jeju National University, where she wrote a thesis comparing the mythology of Greek goddesses with that of Jeju Island, bringing together her interests in both Western and Korean mythological traditions.
Barbakadze's encounter with the work of poet Park So-ran proved to be particularly meaningful and ultimately led to her award-winning translations. She described her first experience reading Park So-ran's poetry: "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." The poem "Absence" is among the works she translated for the award from Park So-ran's poetry collection "Words Close to the Heart."
The translator found a unique quality in Park So-ran's poetry that resonated with her own experiences and emotions. "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," Barbakadze explained. Her motivation for translating these particular poems came from a desire to share this emotional connection with a broader audience: "I wanted to share that feeling of finding understanding in someone else's words with readers who might not know the Korean language."
Currently working as a brand manager at a company in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Barbakadze views this award as a turning point in her career aspirations. The recognition has inspired her to consider literary translation more seriously as a professional path. "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."
