Exploring works of Han Kang

South Korean author Han Kang has been awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature, marking her as the first South Korean to receive one of the world’s most prestigious literary honors.

Born in November 1970 in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, Han later moved to Seoul and studied Korean literature at Yonsei University. She is the daughter of novelist Han Seung-won.

Her literary career began in 1993 when she published five poems in the winter edition of Quarterly Literature and Society. The following year, Han made her debut as a novelist by winning the Seoul Shinmun New Writer's Contest for her short story “Red Anchor.”

Since then, she has garnered numerous awards, establishing a unique body of work that addresses universal human issues such as death and violence through poetic and lyrical prose.

Han’s first novel to be translated into English, "The Vegetarian," (published in 2007 in Korean) won the International Booker Prize in 2016, translated by Deborah Smith. Han became the first Korean to achieve the feat.

The book tells the story of Yeong-hye, a housewife whose violent nightmares compel her to stop eating meat, and her family’s reactions to her belief that she is transforming into a tree.

Boyd Tonkin, the chairman of the Booker judging panel, said, “In a style both lyrical and lacerating, it reveals the impact of this great refusal both on the heroine herself and on those around her. This compact, exquisite and disturbing book will linger long in the minds, and maybe the dreams, of its readers.”

"The White Book" (published in 2016) which follows a nameless narrator who focuses on the color white to creatively channel her inner pain was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2018.

Han's novels, particularly "Human Acts" (2014), which deals with the Gwangju Democratization Movement, and "I Do Not Bid Farewell" (2021), which recounts the tragedies of the Jeju April 3 Incident, vividly depict the deep shadows and wounds of modern Korean history.

Han said she considers the two books as a pair.

"I Do Not Bid Farewell" (released in Korean in 2021), marked her return to the literary scene five years after winning the International Booker Prize.

The novel explores the tragic events of the Jeju April 3 Incident through the eyes of Gyeong-ha, who visits her friend In-seon after an accident. During her visit, Gyeong-ha confronts the island's painful history through visions of In-seon’s mother, Jeong-sim. Because in the story, Gyeong-ha grapples with her memories of the Gwangju Democratization Movement, the novel has been interpreted as autobiographical. Han has publicly shared that she experienced nightmares after writing "Human Acts."

In November last year, during a press conference after winning the Prix Medicis, one of the prestigious French literary awards, for "I Do Not Bid Farewell," Han Kang stated that she plans to write a novel about life.

Her other notable works include "Yeosu," "Fruits of My Woman," "Your Cold Hands," "Black Deer," and "Greek Lessons."