Han Kang: A Nobel-Winning Journey from Gwangju to Global Acclaim
Well, well, well, if it isn’t the literary world dropping a bombshell! The Nobel Prize for Literature has been awarded to South Korean author Han Kang, whose phraseology has been deemed ‘intense poetic prose.’ It’s nice to see someone getting recognised for their ability to make words work harder than most of us do all week! The Swedish Academy has bestowed the honour upon Han Kang for her exploration of ‘historical traumas’ and the ‘fragility of human life.’ Or in layman’s terms, she writes about the stuff that makes your heart feel like it’s been through a paper shredder.
Born in Gwangju on November 27, 1970, Kang moved to Seoul at the tender age of nine—we’re talking about a time when everyone was still trying to figure out the complexities of a Rubik’s Cube. Imagine the smells of kimchi wafting through the air as a young Han began her journey into literature all while trying to avoid the complexities of adulthood! A graduate of Yonsei University, she took her first steps into the literary world with poetry in 1993—because why not start out on the emotional equivalent of a rollercoaster?
Now, let’s talk about her international breakthrough with that little gem of a novel dubbed The Vegetarian (채식주의자) released in 2007. This wasn’t just a book; it was an *event*. It made waves across the literary ocean and not just because of the plant-based diet it advocates—because let’s face it, nobody really wants to talk to a vegetable, unless, of course, they have a Nobel Prize! The book eventually got a film adaptation in 2009, but let’s be honest, very few films ever capture the charm of a good book. You can take the girl out of Korea, but you can’t take the #bookworms out of their armchairs, right?
Thanks to her literary magic, she snagged the International Man Booker Prize in 2015 for The Vegetarian. Talk about jumping on a gravy train! The book became a bestseller worldwide faster than you can say “where’s my Nobel Prize money?” Moreover, her knack for the written word has earned her translations into various languages, with the Dutch versions of I’m Not Saying Goodbye and People Work. Catchy titles, but let’s hope they focus more on the plot than on overly sentimental farewells—no pressure, right?
But let’s not gloss over the fact that in addition to a shiny medal and the prize money of a whopping 970,000 euros, Han is making history as the eighteenth woman to snag the Nobel Prize for Literature out of a total of 117 laureates. Just imagine the celebratory streets of Gwangju and Seoul buzzing with pride! A toast to breaking glass ceilings and writing our emotions on our sleeves!
The Nobel Prize ceremony will take place in December, and hopefully, Han Kang can drop some pithy quotes we can steal for our own Instagram captions. Here’s to a woman who has managed to turn the fragility of human life into prose so intense it got the attention of not just the literary commandoes but the world! So, when’s the next Nobel Prize for Yodeling?
Oh, and don’t forget to check out the striking drawing of this literary laureate by Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach—unlike a bad Tinder date, you won’t want to swipe left on this one!
The Nobel Prize for Literature has been awarded to South Korean author Han Kang. The Swedish Academy praises her for her ‘intense poetic prose that addresses historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life’.
Han Kang was born on November 27, 1970 in the South Korean city of Gwangju. When she was nine, the family moved to the capital Seoul. She studied at Yonsei University.
She made her debut with poems in 1993, followed two years later by her prose debut, the short story collection Love of Yeosu. With the novel The vegetarian (채식주의자) from 2007 (made into a film in 2009), she made her international breakthrough in 2015. That year a Dutch translation by Monique Eggermont was also published by Nijgh & Van Ditmar. The book became a bestseller worldwide and won Han Kang the International Man Booker Prize.
Other books of hers translated into Dutch are: I’m not saying goodbye(translated by Mattho Mandersloot), People work in Wit (the last two novels have been translated by Marijke Versluys and Deborah Smith).
In addition to a medal, the winner of the Nobel Prize will receive an amount of 970,000 euros. It is the eighteenth time that the prize has been awarded to a woman, in a series of 117 laureates in total. The festive ceremony will take place in December.
Drawing of the laureate: Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach.
