South Korean author Han Kang has won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature for “her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life,” the award-giving body said on Thursday.
The Literature Prize is the most accessible of the Nobel Prizes for many, and, as such, the Academy’s choices are met with praise and criticism, often in equal measure.
Han Kang, the first South Korean and the 18th woman to win the literature prize, began her career in 1993 with the publication of several poems in the magazine Literature and Society. Her prose debut came in 1995 with the short story collection ‘Love of Yeosu.’
“She has a unique awareness of the connections between body and soul, the living and the dead, and has become an innovator in contemporary prose,” said Anders Olsson, chairman of the Academy’s Nobel Committee.
Born in 1970, she comes from a literary background, her father being a well-regarded novelist.
Two of her books have been made into films; ‘The Vegetarian’ in 2009, directed by Lim Woo-Seong, and ‘Scars’ in 2011, by the same director.
Polish translator Dr. Justyna Najbar-Miller said that while Han Kang’s Nobel Prize win was somewhat surprising, it was not entirely unexpected, citing the South Korean author's profound exploration of trauma in her works.
“I had a bit of a feeling about it because she truly deserves it,” Najbar-Miller told the Polish state news agency PAP. She said that Han Kang addresses various forms of trauma in her novels, which she portrays with remarkable sensitivity.
Najbar-Miller, who translated several of Han’s novels into Polish, said that four of the author's books have been published in Poland, starting with ‘The Vegetarian.’
She added that the Polish translation of ‘The Vegetarian’ preceded the English one, gaining attention after Han won the Man Booker Prize in 2016.
Following that recognition, Polish publishers, particularly W.A.B., became more interested in Han’s work, leading to wider dissemination of her novels in the country.
Han Kang, the first South Korean and the 18th woman to win the literature prize, began her career in 1993 with the publication of several poems in the magazine Literature and Society. Her prose debut came in 1995 with the short story collection ‘Love of Yeosu.’
“She has a unique awareness of the connections between body and soul, the living and the dead, and has become an innovator in contemporary prose,” said Anders Olsson, chairman of the Academy’s Nobel Committee.
Born in 1970, she comes from a literary background, her father being a well-regarded novelist.
Two of her books have been made into films; ‘The Vegetarian’ in 2009, directed by Lim Woo-Seong, and ‘Scars’ in 2011, by the same director.
Polish translator Dr. Justyna Najbar-Miller said that while Han Kang’s Nobel Prize win was somewhat surprising, it was not entirely unexpected, citing the South Korean author's profound exploration of trauma in her works.
“I had a bit of a feeling about it because she truly deserves it,” Najbar-Miller told the Polish state news agency PAP. She said that Han Kang addresses various forms of trauma in her novels, which she portrays with remarkable sensitivity.
Najbar-Miller, who translated several of Han’s novels into Polish, said that four of the author's books have been published in Poland, starting with ‘The Vegetarian.’
She added that the Polish translation of ‘The Vegetarian’ preceded the English one, gaining attention after Han won the Man Booker Prize in 2016.
Following that recognition, Polish publishers, particularly W.A.B., became more interested in Han’s work, leading to wider dissemination of her novels in the country.
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