Kim Namjo's poetry features a dynamic use of sensual language and vibrant imagery to portray the subtlety of human emotions. Kim's work follows in the tradition of Mo Yunsuk and
Noh Cheonmyeong. Kim's main theme was love, but not simply the love shared by a man and woman, but also the love shared between a human and the "Absolute Being. The poems in her first poetry collection,
Life (
Moksum), offer both an affirmation of humanity and a passion for the vitality of life. These poems also present a harmonious balance between
Catholic piety and an ardent human voice. The poems in Kim's second collection,
Naadeuui hyangyu, and third collection place an increasingly heightened emphasis on religious faith, focusing much attention on the exploration of Christian humanism and ethics. Her later poems discard passion for restraint and perseverance as part of an ongoing religious self-examination. In the collection
Winter Ocean (
Gyeoul Bada), the poet describes a world in which human emotions have attained absolute purity. ==Works in translation==