South Korean author Han Kang was awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday. She is the first author from South Korea to receive the distinction, as well as the 18th woman out of 117 prizes awarded since 1901. The committee recognized her body of work as it “confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life,” according to AP News.
Anna-Karin Palm of the Nobel Literature Committee said Han’s writing is about “trauma, pain and loss” with equal “compassion and care.”
She added, “And this, I think, is something that is quite remarkable.”
The author is known for highlighting female characters in her writing, as well as South Korea’s history dealing with war and dictatorship. Her 2007 novel The Vegetarian is about a woman’s decision to stop eating meat, which is met with some devastating consequences. Her 2014 novel Human Acts is set during the violent repression of pro-democracy protesters in the author’s hometown of Gwangju in 1980.
Han said that she uses writing as “a way of questioning for me.”
“I just try to complete my questions through the process of my writing and I try to stay in the questions, sometimes painful, sometimes — well — sometimes demanding,” she said during her acceptance speech, according to the AP.
The Swedish Academy’s permanent secretary Mats Malm said Han was surprised to hear the exciting news.
“She was having an ordinary day it seemed – had just finished supper with her son,” he said, per The Guardian. “She wasn’t really prepared for this, but we have begun to discuss preparations for December.”
A formal ceremony for the Nobel Prize will be held in Stockholm on Dec. 10, which also marks the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. The prize is equivalent to $1 million.
Han is the second South Korean to receive a Nobel Prize. The first was former President Kim Dae-jung, who was awarded the Peace Prize in 2000 for his work in restoring democracy in South Korea following military rule.
