Han Kang, a Laureate of Nobel Literature Prize

[허만]

Toward the greatest joy of the nation and Korea's crippled political development

Professor Emeritus Mane Heo/ Former President of the KSCES

Han Kang is the true Korean voice of more than the fragility of human life. In the Korean dystopia, many stroies have long remained unsaid and suppressed. Han Kang spoke boldly and sharply but  softly about the Kwangju Uprising and the Jeju Rebellion, etc. As a writer,  she  herself seemed to have felt sufferings and inhumanity.  It is our great admiration that her Nobel Prize poetic proses revealed such dark and bright memories in our times.  Her poetic expressions in particular might have been the strognest merit to allure the Swidish Nobel Academy  to select Han Kang as the Nobel  literature laureate.   As to the aspect of  trauma, she stood up to the historic traumas in particular, revealing the fragility of human life in her all masterpieces.  Han's writings of poetic and experimental styles truly deserve our great admiration. The former represents the rule of the Korean military governemtns and the latter, democratization by the Koreans. The Nobel PrIze winner hints that the Koreans themselves are the primary proud actors for the democratization and moving forward in their own will what they have accomplished through a series of their long sacrifices of life. In addition,  moreover, Swedish Nobel Academy permanent officer Martz Malm said that "Han truly has not expected at all a Nobel Prize Award."

I feel, however, very happy that through her masterpieces, Han Kang is a full and hard witness of brightness and darkness in the historical dystopia. In addition, the 21st century great award for writer Han Kang speaks without ambiguity that North Korea is beaten and defeated onesidedly, in all respects of competition, by South Korea. 

As another aspect of our great admiration, Han Kang, the laureate of Nobel Literature Prize has refrained from making appearence before the public. She has not held even interviews  that many Koreans repeatedly have demanded. Moreover, her father publicly said that any celebation is not needed at this time as many people have been killed  in the battlefields in Ukraine and the Middle East. Tragic deaths are still going on.  Han Gang agreed to her father's suggestion.To be brief,  I  see something greater, refined and deeper in her character. Her behavoirs are truely worth our great admiration.

Han Kang's father, also a novelist thought that the news about his daugher's win of the Nobel Literature Prize was  a fake news when it was first announced. Novelist Han was also surprised by the news as her father was  when she first  talked with the official of the Nobel Prize Office.  It is the fact that Han is the first winner of the prize in Korea,  thanks to the reputation of her works. Her win represents that influenced by her typical literary style, the Korean literature is duly estimated to have reached the level of poetic prose characters capable of accommodaing  subjectively international magnitude at the level of global values in interature. 

Korean artists created, which continuously has developed the K-culture and spread it out at high speed,   has reached tan environment capable of moving people around the world. It has opened the way to live in peace, sharing a sense of mutual advancement with them rather than a sense  of selfish-minded thinking. Such thoughts now are well reflected in the sectors of economy, diplomacy, national mind, and paintings, etc.  In brief, the Nobel Literature Award is, it may be estimated, one of the K-Culture accomplishments.

In her works, she has made remarkable efforts to unflinchingly address suffering, trauma, silence, and darkness, both in public and private spheres. Globally, her poetic proses have been recognized for its clear potential to captivate broader readers. I believe that Korean readers, in particular, take comfort and joy in the ability to engage with her writings, free from fear, and with a sense of happiness. This represents a profound source of pride for the nation.

Unfortunately, our political reality is  not like the Korean literature quality. The Korean literature has steadily advanced, in tendam with chagnges of times. Unlike it, the Korean political parties have been long engaged in useless, selfish fights. Such fights have, it is truly claimed,  atrophied Korean political development, not meeting the expectations of the Korean people and far lagging in building a sound and resilent democracy capable of bringing about compromise and accommodation. This means that the Korean Parliament has been sacrificed by such political parties' uncompromising behaviors. As a result, such behaviors  failed to advance political party's role and plummeted parlimentary politics to the lowest degree. 

In the end,  both role became slaves to the competence of the judiciary. On the other hand,  the judiciary became the target to threats posed by the Democrat Party. The goverment Gook Him Party became paralyzed, doing nothing for the nation. Given the pesent situation, politicians would see no chance  to forge  political forward move if they are not inspired with new, dynamic thinking.  I personally wish that the Korean literature  would positively impact on the Korean political reality.  Such  impacts would help bring Korea  to  truly political development which  in the end, would most likely lead to the buildup of solid free democracy.