Kil Hyeyeon, born in Seoul, studied French literature at Sungkyunkwan University and modern French literature at Paris Nanterre University. She worked for some time at the Embassy of France in Korea and KBS World Radio, and as a translator of French novels and books of essays and humanities. She lived in France for a total of thirteen years over two long-term stays. The Heart Walks Slowly There, a book of essays on literary travels she wrote in France, has been selected as an outstanding book of literature by Arts Council Korea. She has written and translated a number of other works, and published articles on French culture in various papers and magazines.