The Swedish Academy recently awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature to South Korean writer Han Kang for her “poetic and prose-like approach to confronting historical trauma, revealing the fragility of human life.” Han Kang thus became the first Asian female writer to receive this prestigious award.
Following the late former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung in 2000, Han Kang is the second South Korean Nobel laureate and the 18th female writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
The official Nobel Prize in Literature website praised Han Kang’s work in detail, stating that she confronts historical trauma and invisible rulers in her works, showcasing the vulnerability of human life. She offers unique insights into the relationship between body and soul, the living and the dead, and has become an innovator in contemporary prose with her poetic and avant-garde style.
Han Kang’s win was both unexpected and well-deserved. Prior to receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature, she had already gained widespread recognition in the international literary community, winning numerous significant literary awards.
In 2016, Han Kang became the first South Korean writer to win the Booker International Prize with her novel “The Vegetarian.” That year, she triumphed over strong competitors such as Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk’s “My Name is Red,” Nobel laureate Kenzaburō Ōe’s “Death by Water,” and the best-selling book “Neapolitan Quartet” finale, “The Story of the Lost Child.”
In 2017, she was honored with the Maraplatti Literary Award, known as the “Italian Nobel Prize in Literature.”
In 2018, her work “White” was shortlisted for the Booker International Prize again, and in the same year, her novel “The Boy Came” was shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award.
In 2019, she won the Spanish San Clemente Literary Award.
In 2022, she claimed the Daesan Literary Award and the Kim Man-jung Literary Award in South Korea with her novel “Farewell, My Sister.”
In 2024, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Born in November 1970 in Gwangju, South Korea, Han Kang comes from a literary family background. Her father, Han Seungwon, is a renowned writer in South Korea, and both of her brothers are writers. Her husband, Hong Ryeong-hee, is a professor at Kyung Hee Cyber University in South Korea and a prominent literary critic. Han Seungwon and Han Kang also hold the record for being a father-daughter duo to be awarded the highest novel literary prize in South Korea, the “Lee Hyang Literary Award.”
Han Kang once mentioned that besides books, she had nothing else growing up and immersed herself in reading daily. As she entered adolescence, she began pondering the meaning of the books she read, which eventually sparked her desire to write. She decided to ask questions to the world through her writing and seek answers.
In 1993, Han Kang published some poems in a magazine, marking the beginning of her creative career. She once said, “My writing began with poetry. There is a significant overlap between my novels and my poetry, as poetry allows me to dive into emotion.”
The following year, she won an award with “Red Anchor” in a literary collection organized by the Seoul News, transitioning into a novelist. In 1995, her first collection of short stories, “Love in Li-shui,” was published, which also marked her debut in prose. In 1998, Han Kang published her first novel, “Mystery Deer.” However, it wasn’t until she won the Korean Novel Literature Award with her novella “The Vegetarian” in 1999 that Han Kang truly made a name for herself. This work was later included in her short story collection “Plant Wife,” published in 2000.
Han Kang has also published novels such as “Love in Li-shui,” “Fruit of My Woman,” “Your Cold Hands,” and “Wind is Blowing,” becoming one of the most prominent novelists in the Korean literary scene.
Besides novels, Han Kang has released a poetry collection titled “Dinner Goes into the Drawer,” as well as fairy tales “My Name is Sunflower” and “The Box of Tears.” She has been honored with multiple awards both domestically and internationally, with “The Vegetarian” being her first work to garner widespread attention.
“The Vegetarian” tells the story of Yeong-hye, a South Korean housewife who refuses to eat meat due to childhood violence-induced psychological trauma. While staunchly adhering to a vegetarian diet, she dreams of becoming a tree and ultimately meets her demise. The narrative unfolds from the perspectives of Yeong-hye’s husband, brother-in-law, and sister, showcasing the tragedy from all angles.
Her recent novel “Farewell, My Sister” is set against the backdrop of the violent crackdown by the South Korean military police on Jeju Island from 1948 to 1954. The novel won the Medici Prize, one of the four major literary awards in France in 2023.
During a press conference in November 2023, Han Kang mentioned that the happiest moment in her novel writing process was completing “Farewell, My Sister” at the end of April 2021. She revealed that the creation of this work was time-consuming and challenging.
From “The Vegetarian” to “Farewell, My Sister,” Han Kang transforms the dark aspects and traumas of modern Korean history into novels. She expressed in the press conference her desire to create a “pleasant story” in the future.
South Korean media has lauded Han Kang’s writing style, likening her to a bird gently flapping its wings, insightfully delving into the depths of human suffering with a calm perspective and elevating it into poetic language. She keenly observes the tragedies of human society with a neutral eye, vividly portraying the pain and repulsive character images within.
After Han Kang’s Nobel Prize win, South Korean citizens took to social media to express excitement and admiration, hailing her Nobel Prize in Literature victory as a monumental moment in Korean literary history. During this celebratory time, no one brought up the discourse of “One can only win the Nobel Prize in Literature by betraying the country,” nor did anyone label her as a “traitor” or “reactionary intellectual.”
Cultural scholar Wu Zuolai, residing in the United States, stated in an interview with Epoch Times reporters that South Koreans have broken free from the shackles of narrow nationalism and are gradually shedding the constraints of authoritarian society. He remarked that the Chinese Communist regime and the North Korean regime exploit nationalist emotions, propagating the idea of “Never air dirty laundry in public,” using these sentiments to control and manipulate the entire nation and enslave the people, viewing those who expose historical issues as an invasion of cultural nationalism. However, South Koreans are now able to confront historical dilemmas and deeply reflect on them.