The representative of the Academy reported that the writer has already been informed about the award. She was having lunch with her son when she was told the news.
Two books by this 53-year-old writer have been published in Lithuanian – “Vegetarian” (translated from Korean by Martynas Šiaučiūnas-Kačinskas, published by “Vaga” publishing house), and “A Boy Comes” (translated from Korean by Martynas Šiaučiūnas-Kačinskas, published by “Sofoklis” publishing house).
She was awarded a prestigious award for the book “Vegetarian”. The Man Booker International 2016 Award, “A Boy Is Coming” was rated South Korea Award Manhae Prize for Literaturealso won an Italian award Malaparte Prizemade it to the short International Dublin Literary Award the list.
He grew up in a family of writers
Before the publication of the book “Vegetarian”, the literary world had not heard much about H. Kang. She was a well-known writer in South Korea, but her work was little known outside of that country.
H. Kang was born in November 1970 in Gwangju, the sixth largest city in South Korea. Her mother, Han Seung-won, is a famous novelist in the country. Therefore, it is not surprising that H. Kang also inherited the desire to create. By the way, her older brother also writes poetry, essays and short stories.
When Kang was ten years old, she and her family moved to Seoul. Here, the future writer studied Korean literature at Yonsei University. Later, he attended the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, where he developed his creative skills.
H. Kang began her path as a writer in 1993, when her poems were published in a South Korean literary publication.
However, the work published in 1994 is considered the real debut of H. Kang, which was awarded the literary award of the Korean daily “Seoul Shinmun”.
Dowry of rewards
Since then, H. Kang’s literary journey began, during which he received a number of awards for his work.
In 1999, her novel “Baby Budha” was recognized as the best novel in Korea, and the following year, H. Kang was recognized as the best young writer. In 2005, she received the Yi Sang Prize, which is highly valued in South Korea, and in 2010, the Dong-ni Award.
Interested in art
H. Kang is interested not only in literature, but also in other areas of art. For example, she is no stranger to architecture, which is perfectly illustrated by her book “Your Cold Hand”, published in 2002, in which H. Kang talks about the life of a sculptor.
In 2007, the writer published a collection of essays “Quietly sung songs”. It is interesting that after the publication of the book, a CD with ten songs appeared on the market. The writer not only wrote these songs, but also voiced them. Singer Han Jung Rim encouraged H. Kang to do this.
A novel that brought fame
The Man Booker Prize-winning book “Vegetarian” was first published in South Korea in 2007, and two years later it was made into a movie. H. Kang evaluates the latter ambiguously. In an interview, she said that the director of the film, Woo-Seong Lim, screened everything the opposite of what the author of the book had imagined.
Another of her books – “Baby Budha” – was also made into a movie.
The novel “Vegetarian” was released in Korea in three parts, which tells the story of a dutiful woman, Yeong-hy. Her decision to give up meat due to endless nightmares leads to major life changes. For example, one day she starts thinking about becoming a tree.
As the author herself tells, people in Korea usually eat little meat, and you can find more vegetables on the table. Therefore, the declaration of the character of her book that she is becoming a vegetarian is already a week scandalous. Western societies are now famous for such statements, but such ideas are viewed with skepticism in Korea.
The book was translated into English in 2015, and already in 2016 it received international recognition. “This is a book about tenderness and horror,” said Boyd Tonkin, chairman of the judging panel.
H. Kang became the first South Korean writer to receive the Man Booker Prize.
What is interesting about her work?
15min more than one review of Han Kang’s book “Vegetarian” has appeared. Audrius Ožalas, who prepares book reviews on the portal, chose this work as the best book of May 2017 and evaluated it as follows: “Han Kang’s book is a special, shocking reading experience. “Vegetarė” is often described as a book about resistance to societal norms, personality rebellion, but there are many layers here. It is a cruel, dark, even psychologically crushing story with scenes of violence, dark eroticism, allegories are intertwined into a ball that is difficult to unravel, and at the same time it is a very poetic, sadly longing, magical story.”
Jurga Mandrijauskaitė wrote about this book: “The atmosphere of the book, imbued with melancholy, mysticism, eroticism, and feelings of anxiety, inevitably leads to something very crazy and extreme, something that knocks the reader out of their comfortable seats and makes them rethink their own value system. Do we have the right to interfere with another person’s choices? Does the crazy and at the same time the most joyful, the greatest bliss of the soul, the thrill-giving passion have the right to be fulfilled at the expense of family responsibility? Can an act of love performed with bodies painted with flowers be called art? After all, does a person have the right to choose his own death?’
Mažvydas Karalius wrote about this work: “The book will appeal to those who are interested in allegorical stories about society, its vices, inner human experiences and mistakes. Drauge is a good opportunity to get acquainted with South Korean literature, which is becoming increasingly popular in the West. Don’t forget the elements of mysticism – those who like a story full of mysteries will surely find tension here from the first to the last page of the book.”
Award-winning Norwegian writer
Last year, the Swedish Academy awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature Norwegian writer Jon Fosse “for innovative plays and prose that gives voice to the unspeakable.”
Vida Press photo/Jonas Fosse
in 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry dedicated to David Baker, Dami Hassabis, and John M. Jumper. Their work in the field of creating new proteins and designing their structures was evaluated.
Physics prize received by scientists John J.Hopfield and Geoffrey E.Hinton for achievements in the development of machine learning.
Award in Physiology or Medicine dedicated to two scientists: Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun. They discovered microRNA and determined its role in gene regulation.
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