Whether a literary work -- or any other art or cultural product -- receives an award should not be the only yardstick for assessing its value. However, the significance of the Man Booker International Prize given to writer Han Kang for “The Vegetarian” is worth noting.
Han is the first Korean writer to win one of the world’s three most prestigious literature awards, which include the Nobel and Goncourt prizes. The novel written by 45-year-old Han beat works by Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and other internationally acclaimed writers.
The honor given to Han shows that some Korean writers are outstanding enough to captivate the global audience. It should also be taken as a sign that other areas of Korea culture are at last beginning to catch up with the Korean Wave, which has seen K-pop culture, including music, films, drama and cuisine, spread around the world.
A big round of applause should -- of course -- go to Han, whose talent, passion, toil and questions about human beings helped her write exceptional novels like “The Vegetarian.”
In an interview, the writer said that writing is a “painful, persistent and self-finding process.” Those who read her works will readily agree.
Her three-part novel portrays a woman who becomes a vegetarian and suffers due to people around her who try to force her to give up on the lifestyle. This only makes her more defiant.
The judging panel praised Han’s literary craft, describing the novel as “concise, unsettling, beautifully composed and an uncanny blend of beauty and horror.”
Han started her writing career as a poet, which must have helped her acquire her writing style, which the panel of judges said was “both lyrical and lacerating.”
Boyd Tonkin, the chair of judges, stated that “The Vegetarian” reveals the impact of refusal on the heroine and on those around her. “This compact, exquisite and disturbing book will linger long in the minds, and maybe the dreams, of its readers,” he said.
The Man Booker International Prize is given to a work translated into English and the 50,000-pound ($72,600) prize money is shared by the author and the translator. This illustrates the importance of translation, which has often been regarded as a stumbling block for talented Korean writers in reaching out to foreign readers.
So kudos should go to Deborah Smith from Britain, whose superb work proved that good translation can help Korean literary works transcend language barriers.
It is amazing that the 28-year-old Smith, who began studying Korean only seven years ago, did such wonderful translation work as to be described by the chief judge as one which “matches its uncanny blend of beauty and horror at every turn.”
Tonkin noted that Korea has a very strong fiction culture, with lots of good writers and a thriving literary scene. “It would be a very good outcome if we saw a bit more of that reflected in this country.”
His comments sum up the task that lies ahead. The Man Booker International Prize should provide momentum to efforts to secure good translations of works and nurture capable translators among both native Koreans and foreigners. Then it will be only a matter of time before Korean writers receive not only another Man Booker International Prize but also the Nobel and Goncourt prizes.
Another good thing that has come out of Han’s win is how her books have been swept off the shelves at bookstores and online shops. Perhaps this will encourage more Koreans -- especially the younger generation addicted to digital devices -- to spend more time reading.
