한강 작가 대한민국 최초로 노벨문학상 수상 Meet Han Kang, Winner of the Nobel Prize for Litera

[정승남세기영어교육연구회장]

Meet Han Kang, Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature

한강 작가 대한민국 최초로 노벨문학상 수상

South Koreans are joyful after Han Kang wins Nobel Prize for literature

Rebecca Schneid
October 11, 2024 at 1:21 AM

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South Korean writer Han Kang attends a photocall at Edinburgh International Book Festival at Charlotte Square Gardens on August 17, 2016 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Credit - Roberto Ricciuti/Getty Images

Author Han Kang was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for her “intense poetic prose” on Oct. 10, per a press release by The Royal Swedish Academy.

Kang’s work focuses on “historical traumas,” colonial violence, and the “fragility” of humanity, the academy continued. The South Korean author is known for works such as The Vegetarian—which won the International Booker prize in 2016—The White Book, Human Acts, and Greek Lessons. The prize for literature is awarded for an author’s full body of work, not a specific text. Like all those awarded the Nobel Prize, Kang has won 11m krona ($1.1 million) for the prize.

“I’m so surprised and honored,” Kang told the Nobel Museum in a phone call soon after she learned about the honor. “ So I can say I grew up with Korean literature, which I feel very close to. So I hope this news is nice for Korean literature readers and my friends, writers.” She went on to say she will celebrate “quietly” by having tea with her son.

Kang is the first South Korean person and the first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature.

“Han Kang writes intense, lyrical prose that is both tender and brutal,” said Anna-Karin Palm, a co-opted member of the Nobel Committee for Literature, in an interview with the Nobel Prize Museum after the announcement. “There’s continuity as to themes, that is quite remarkable, but at the same time, a huge stylistic variation that makes every book a new aspect or a new expression‎ of these central themes.”

Kang, 53, has been a writer for over 30 years, but The Vegetarian—first published in 2007—was her first novel to be translated into English in 2015, and received widespread acclaim and attention. She has won prizes including the Manhae literary prize and the Kim Yujung Literary Prize for her other work

Kang was born in Gwangju in 1970, though she grew up in Suyuri and currently lives in Seoul. She studied Korean literature at Yonsei University. Her first published works were five poems in 1993, and she made her debut in fiction the following year with a short story. The Vegetarian, the book that boosted her global profile, is about a woman who chooses to stop eating meat after having violent dreams about animal slaughter. It explores themes of isolation, social conformity and violence.

The only other South Korean person to win a Nobel Prize is the nation’s former President Kim Dae-jung, who won the Nobel Peace prize in 2000 for his efforts to restore democracy in South Korea and for his “sunshine policy” toward North Korea.

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South Koreans are joyful after Han Kang wins Nobel Prize for literature

By KIM TONG-HYUNG,Associated PressUpdated Oct 10, 2024 10:19 p.m.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Koreans reacted with joy and astonishment on Thursday after learning that homegrown writer Han Kang won the Nobel Prize in literature, an unexpected moment that stoked national pride about the country’s growing cultural influence.

Han, known for her experimental and often disturbing stories that explore human traumas and violence and incorporate the brutal moments of South Korea’s modern history, is the country’s first writer to win the preeminent award in world literature.

Han's triumph adds to the growing global influence of South Korean culture, which in recent years included the successes of director Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning “Parasite,” the brutal Netflix survival drama “Squid Game” and K-pop groups like BTS and BLACKPINK.

“I’m so surprised and honored,” Han, 53, said in a telephone interview posted on the X account of the Nobel Prize.

As the news spread in South Korea, some online bookstores temporarily froze following a sudden jump in traffic. South Korean social media were flooded with jubilant messages expressing admiration and pride. Some internet users found it meaningful that Han was the first Asian woman to win the award and portrayed it as a statement toward the country’s traditionally male-dominated literature scene.

“It’s always the women who do the big things,” one Facebook user wrote.

In South Korea’s parliament, multiple government hearings were paused as lawmakers cheered and applauded Han’s award.

While visiting Laos for a meeting of Asian leaders, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a statement, congratulating Han on her award, calling it a “great achievement in the history of Korean literature” and a “special moment for the nation.”

“You converted the painful wounds of our modern history into great literature,” Yoon wrote. “I send my respects to you for elevating the value of Korean literature.”

Han, the daughter of renowned South Korean novelist Han Seung-won, made her publishing debut as a poet in 1993. She won the International Booker Prize in 2016 for the novel “The Vegetarian,” a story in which a woman’s decision to stop eating meat brings devastating consequences and raises concern among family members that she’s mentally ill. The book sold more than 100,000 in the U.S.

Another one of Han's well-known novels is “Human Acts,” which is set in 1980 in her birth city of Gwangju and follows a boy searching for the body of a friend who was killed in a violent suppression of a student protest. South Korea’s former military government that year sent troops to Gwangju for a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters that left around 200 people dead and hundreds of others injured.

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