Cheonhak Kwon, Director of WSIMS, debuted through the literary journal Hyundae Munhak, and served as a member of Jindan Si, a poetry society in South Korea. She immigrated to Canada in 2008, and was awarded the Kyung Hee University Overseas Korean Literary Award in 2010 for the short story "Stuffed Cucumber Kimchi." Kwon was also awarded the Distinguished Poet Award in 2015 by Writers International Network Canada. Kwon is an active member of PEN International, the Society of Korean Poets, and the World Sijo Poet Forum. Her poetry collections include Silvery Fish Caught in a Net (Korean), 2H₂+O₂=2H₂O and Love is the Pain of Feverish Flowers (translated into English by Hana Kim), and Making a Phone Call to the Heart of an Empty City (translated into Japanese by Yoshitoshi Kanazawa and Taek-myeong Kwon).