Portrait of the first Korean female writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature

On October 10, the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature was announced by the Swedish Academy, with the victory going to Korean female writer Han Kang.

Anders Olsson, Chairman of the Nobel Prize Committee, commented on Han Kang: "She has a special ability to perceive the connection between soul and body, life and death. Her poetic and experiential writing style makes her an innovator in contemporary literature." 

South Korean author Han Kang won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature (Photo: AP).

Mr. Anders Olsson also appreciated her sensitivity and empathy towards vulnerable people in society, especially women.

Han Kang 's victory is also considered a surprise because before the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature was announced, the names expected by the media and experts to win the award included Tan Tuyet of China, Gerald Murnane of Australia, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o of Kenya, and Anne Carson of Canada.

However, many writers around the world have sent congratulations and praise for the 54-year-old female writer's victory.

Novelist Deborah Levy shared: "I consider Han Kang one of the authors with real understanding and talent. I was very happy when I heard that she won. Congratulations to Hang Kang on the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature."

Novelist Max Porter, who participated in editing the English translation of The Vegetarian (a work by Han Kang), affirmed that Han Kang was a powerful writer and fought hard for human rights.

"Her talent has been recognized with the Nobel Prize for Literature. She will have more readers and they will change because of her wonderful works ," Max said.

Korean author and translator Bora Chung also congratulated Han Kang and affirmed that the Korean literary world is proud of her victory.

"In the process of creating beautiful literary works, Han Kang always struggles with the painful question of what it means to be a human, a species that can feel both cruelty and love. I think she feels and observes like no other writer ," Simon Prosser, publishing director of Hamish Hamilton Publishing, said about Han Kang.

Novelist Eimear McBride praised Han Kang as one of the greatest contemporary writers because "she is the voice of women, of truth and above all, of the power of literature".

For many years, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been considered an award that focuses on Western authors or favors male authors. Han Kang's win marks a notable change in the structure of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Han Kang became the 18th woman in history to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. The last female author to win the Nobel Prize in Literature was Annie Ernaux (France) in 2022.

Han Kang (54 years old) was born into a family with a tradition of writing. Her father is the famous Korean novelist Han Seung-won. She studied literature at Yonsei University (Korea).

During her writing career, the Korean female writer has published a total of 4 novels, and officially started writing in 1993. At that time, Han Kang published many poetry collections.

Han Kang's name began to be known to the international literary world in 2007 when her third novel, The Vegetarian, was published.  The Vegetarian tells the story of a mentally ill woman who was abandoned by her family.

The Vegetarian became the first Korean-language novel to win the 2016 International Booker Prize for Fiction. The novel is also one of Han Kang's first books to be translated into English.

Han Kang has had 2 works adapted into movies (Photo: News).

She also won many major literary awards in Korea for her book The Vegetarian. Last year, Han Kang was elected International Writer of the Royal Society of Literature.

Her most recent book is We Do Not Part . The novel has received much support from readers and experts and will be translated into English in 2025.

We Do Not Part tells the story of a writer who studies the Jeju Island rebellion of 1948-1949 and its impact on a family. The French translation of the novel won the Médicis Étranger literary prize in 2023.

The autobiographical novel The White Book (White)  released in 2017 is also a notable work of Han Kang. The work was included in the list of outstanding books of the year of the International Man Booker in 2018.  White was also translated into Vietnamese and released in Vietnam.

The book focuses on the loss of her sister, a baby who died two hours after birth. From the white world of Warsaw, Han Kang wanders into the white world of the distant past, with swaddling clothes, newborn clothes and breast milk.

White  is like an old pain that has not healed, a new pain that still lingers in memory, bringing readers to a world intertwined between life and death, between present and past.

The work is like a journey to find inner strength, experience the fragility of human life and try to rebuild life from pain.

In addition to writing books, Han Kang is also a musician and interested in visual arts. In 2007, she released a CD with 10 songs composed, written and recorded by herself.

Two of Han Kang's famous books, Baby Buddha and The Vegetarian, have been adapted into films.

The Vegetarian was adapted into a film, and was one of 14 films selected to compete in the World Storytelling Competition of the North American Film Festival. The film was also well received at the Busan International Film Festival (South Korea).