Heo passed away at around 7:50 p.m. on Wednesday at her home in Germany, Kim Min-jeong, the head of Nanda, Heo's publisher, told Yonhap News Agency. Heo will be buried in a woodland in Germany, Kim said, citing Heo's acquaintance.
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Since her debut in 1987, Heo's regular subjects have been human hunger, grief and longing. Her life as an outsider in Germany added a layer of melancholy to her works, critics have said.
After publishing two collections of poems in South Korea, Heo went to Germany in 1992 where she earned a doctorate degree in archaeology for the ancient Near East at University of Munster.
She continued to author new poems there and went on to publish a total of six books of poetry.
Heo was awarded a number of literary prizes, including the Dongsuh Literary Award.
Born in 1964 in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, Heo majored in Korean literature at Gyeongsang National University before working as a staff writer for TV programs. She is survived by her husband, whom she met in Germany as a student. (Yonhap)
