Ra Heeduk is a poet and professor from South Korea. She received her PhD in Korean Language and Literature from Yonsei University in 2006. She has authored five books of poetry, most recently 사라진 손바닥 [A Disappeared Palm] (2004); one collection of essays, 반 통의 물 [A Water Bucket Filled By Half] (1999); and a volume of literary criticism, 보랏빛은 어디에서 오는가 [Where Does the Purple Come From] (2003). Among her awards is an I-San Prize for Literature (2004). She currently teaches literature at Chosun University in Kwangju.