South Korean writer Han Kang won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature “for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.”
Kang was born in 1970 and writes in Korean. She lives in Seoul, South Korea.
Kang is a prolific author of more than seven novels, including The Vegetarian (2007), which won her a Booker Prize and the 2024 Nobel Literature Prize. Her other titles include Human Acts (2014), The White Book (2016), Greek Lessons (2011), Love in Yeosu (1995), Black Deer (1998), My Woman’s Fruits (2000), and Your Cold Hands (2002).
Reuters reported on Friday, 11 October 2024, that South Koreans flocked to bookstores and crashed websites in a frenzy to snap up copies of novelist Han Kang’s work in her home country after her unexpected win of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature.
However, the author herself was kept out of the limelight.
The country’s largest bookstore chain, Kyobo Book Centre, said sales of her books had rocketed on Friday. Stocks almost immediately sold out and are set to be in short supply for the near future.
“This is the first time a Korean has received a Nobel Prize in Literature, so I was amazed,” said Yoon Ki-heon, a 32-year-old visitor at a bookstore in central Seoul. “South Korea had a poor achievement in winning Nobel Prizes, so I was surprised by the news that (a writer of) non-English books, which were written in Korean, won such a big prize.”
Soon after Thursday’s announcement, some bookstore websites could not be accessed due to heavy traffic. According to Kyobo’s website, nine of the current ten bestsellers were Han’s books on Friday morning.
Han’s father, well-regarded author Han Seung-won, said the translation of her novel “The Vegetarian”, her major international breakthrough, had led to her winning the Man Booker International Prize in 2016 and now the Nobel prize.
“My daughter’s writing is very delicate, beautiful and sad,” Han Seung-won said.
“So, how you translate that sad sentence into a foreign language will determine whether you win … It seems the translator was the right person to translate the unique flavour of Korean language.”
Han’s other books address painful chapters of South Korean history, including “Human Acts” which examines the 1980 massacre of hundreds of civilians by the South Korean military in the city of Gwangju.
Another novel, “We Do Not Part”, looks at the fallout of the 1948-1954 massacre on Jeju island, when an estimated one in ten of the island’s population were killed in an anti-communist purge.
“I really hope souls of the victims and survivors could be healed from pain and trauma through her book,” said Kim Chang-beom, head of an association for the bereaved families of the Jeju massacre.
Steve Sem-Sandberg from the Swedish Academy gives his recommendations.
The Vegetarian
The Vegetarian is Han Kang’s international breakthrough novel, which won the International Booker Prize 2016. It’s the story of a middle-aged Korean woman who, one night, suddenly decides not to eat meat anymore. The vegetarian herself is silent in the novel; her story is told in three different narratives by her husband, her brother-in-law, and her older sister (in that order). Their various reactions, from loathing to sexual fascination to poisonous envy, stand in sharp contrast to the woman’s mute refusal to back down or to admit to any guilt for the shame she has brought to her family. Through these responses, we get a sharp portrait of a patriarchal society obsessed with careerism and rigid, sometimes oppressive social norms and conventions.
Greek Lessons
This short but intense and psychologically penetrating novel is an intimate portrait of two individuals who have lost or are in the process of losing, the most vital links that connect them to the exterior world. After having suffered domestic abuse, the female protagonist has retreated into muteness, while the male protagonist slowly is losing his sight due to a hereditary disease. To regain an ability to communicate, the woman is taking courses in Ancient Greek – since a language no longer spoken will not be able to hurt her – while the man losing his sight is her Greek teacher.
A delicate love story, the novel traces their attempt to, if not to, overcome, so at least try to find common ground in their shared bereavement. It’s also a book about language, how words can help us give shape and meaning to our outer and inner world but also tear at and destroy what is most delicate in all of us: our identity.
Human Acts
As in her latest novel, We Do Not Part, scheduled for publication in English in January 2025, Human Acts takes an oblique but terrifying and totally convincing look at her country’s not-so-distant past. Through many different ever-shifting perspectives, which create almost unbearable narrative suspense, the novel chronicles the lives of many people either taking part or as victims innocently being caught up in a student uprising in May 1980 in the town of Gwangju, where the author spent her childhood and early youth, an uprising that was brutally crushed by the then ruling military junta. As in many other of her works, the border between perpetrator and victim, body and soul, or even between living and dead, fluctuates, which is reflected in straightforward and subtle language. Han gives this and several other novels a new meaning to the expression “living with the past”, considered as remnants of a reality you can neither relinquish nor resist. Through her honest and truly awe-inspiring literary works, we continuously live and relive our pasts.
The Vegetarian by Han Kang: A Surreal Exploration of Identity and Transformation
Han Kang’s The Vegetarian is a haunting and thought-provoking novel that delves into the depths of human identity and desire and the lengths we will go to resist societal expectations.
The Story:
The novel follows Yeong-hye, a seemingly ordinary woman who radically transforms after refusing to eat meat. Her refusal symbolises her rebellion against societal norms and her desire to reclaim her agency. As Yeong-hye’s refusal to eat escalates into a complete rejection of her former self, her family and friends struggle to understand and cope with her behaviour.
Key Themes:
• Identity and transformation: The novel explores the fluid nature of identity and how individuals can radically alter their sense of self.
• Desire and repression: Yeong-hye’s refusal to eat meat manifests her desire to break free from societal expectations and live authentically.
• The body and mind: The novel examines the relationship between the physical body and the psychological self, suggesting that the body can be a site of resistance and rebellion.
• The power of art: The novel incorporates surreal and dreamlike elements, highlighting the power of art to explore the subconscious and challenge conventional narratives.
Why You Should Read It:
• Unique and thought-provoking: The Vegetarian offers a unique and challenging perspective on identity, desire, and societal expectations.
• Beautiful prose: Han Kang’s writing is both lyrical and haunting, creating a powerful and immersive reading experience.
• Award-winning: The novel won the Man Booker International Prize in 2016, recognising its literary merit and significance.
If you’re looking for a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant novel that will stay with you long after reading, The Vegetarian is a must-read.
The 2024 Nobel Prize Roll
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2024
John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton “for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks”.
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2024
David Baker “for computational protein design.”
Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper “for protein structure prediction.”
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2024
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun “for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.”
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2024
Han Kang “for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.”
The Nobel Peace Prize 2024
Nihon Hidankyo “for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.”
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