Han Kang’s works in 28 languages available at National Library

The works of this year’s Nobel Prize winner Han Kang are now on display at the National Library of Korea, on a specially curated bookshelf.

The library's Literature Room on the second floor features 14 of Han’s major works published in Korea, including her early novel “Your Cold Hands” (2002) as well as the internationally acclaimed “The Vegetarian,” “Human Acts” and “We Do Not Part.”

In addition to the Korean editions, the collection includes 79 translated editions of Han's works in 28 languages.

“The Vegetarian,” which won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize (now the International Booker Prize), is available in 20 languages, including Greek, Vietnamese and Azerbaijani. Other notable translated works include “Human Acts” in 20 languages and “The White Book” in 15.

The Literature Room is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., except on the second and fourth Mondays of each month and public holidays.

The books are not available for checkout and can only be read in the Literature Room.

Meanwhile, Han’s books saw an unprecedented spike in demand at libraries around the country following her Nobel Prize win on Oct. 10.

On Friday, the National Library reported that, from Oct. 10 to 14, Han’s books were checked out 11,356 times from public libraries nationwide.

“Since the award, her books have been borrowed at an average of three per minute,” a library official said.

“The day after the announcement, Han Kang’s works held the top 10 spots among the most borrowed books.” The library has 20 titles by Han registered.

“The Vegetarian” was the most borrowed book, checked out 1,382 times between Oct. 10 and 14, followed by “Human Acts” (1,178 times) and her latest novel “We Do Not Part” (1,152 times).

In the six days following the Nobel win, Han’s books sold a staggering one million copies, according to major bookstores. Yes24 reported selling 432,000 copies, Kyobo Bookstore 360,000, and Aladin 240,000 as of Oct. 16. E-book sales are estimated to have surpassed 70,000, bringing the combined total of physical and digital sales to approximately 1.1 million copies.