Renowned South Korean poet Ko Un has received an award from Fondazione Roma, a leading cultural foundation in Italy.

Ko was chosen as the fourth overall and the first Asian recipient of the annual award presented to an international poet at the foundation’s “Ritratti di Poesia” international poetry festival. 

Ko's work has garnered the literary spotlight across the world since 2000 and three of his collections of poetry(Fiori d'un Istante, L'isola che canta, Cos'e') have been translated into Italian.

During the award ceremony held at the Temple of Hadrian on Friday, organizers said the Korean poet sings of life and the universe based on sophisticated sensitivity and the trajectory of his own powerful life experiences.

The foundation has hosted the poetry festival since 2006 and awards decorated poets from around the world every year.

Previous laureates include Carol Ann Duffy of the U.K., Jacobo Cortines of Spain and Adam Zagajewski of Poland.