The prestigious 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to South Korean author Han Kang, celebrated "for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life."
Born in Gwangju, South Korea, in 1970, Han Kang moved to Seoul at the age of nine, growing up in a literary family, with her father a well-known novelist. In addition to writing, Han Kang has pursued her passions for art and music, which are often reflected in her literary works.
Han Kang began her literary journey in 1993, publishing poems in the magazine Literature and Society. Her prose debut came in 1995 with the short story collection Love of Yeosu, followed by a series of novels and short stories. Among her early works, the 2002 novel Your Cold Hands stands out, reflecting her deep interest in art.
The novel centers around a sculptor obsessed with creating plaster casts of female bodies, delving into the tension between what the body reveals and conceals. The haunting line from the book—"Life is a sheet arching over an abyss, and we live above it like masked acrobats"—encapsulates the recurring themes of fragility and the human condition.
Han Kang’s international breakthrough came in 2007 with her critically acclaimed novel The Vegetarian, translated into English in 2015. The novel, structured in three parts, explores the violent repercussions when its protagonist, Yeong-hye, defies societal norms by choosing to become a vegetarian. The work showcases Han Kang’s signature style, intertwining mental and physical suffering while addressing the complex relationship between body and mind.
Renowned for confronting historical traumas and invisible societal rules, Han Kang’s writing offers a unique interplay between the living and the dead, the physical and the spiritual. Her poetic and experimental approach has cemented her status as an innovative voice in contemporary literature.
Anders Olsson, Chair of the Nobel Committee, hailed Han Kang for her profound ability to reveal human vulnerability through a unique fusion of Eastern philosophy and literary experimentation, stating that her work “exposes the fragility of human life” in all its raw intensity.
Han Kang’s contribution to literature, with its deep reflection on trauma, existence, and the human experience, resonates across cultural boundaries, making her a worthy recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature.