Han Kang, the first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, was born in 1970 in Gwangju, South Korea. She entered Yonsei University in 1989, majoring in Korean Language and Literature. Han made her literary debut as a poet in 1993 with four poems, including “Winter in Seoul,” published in the winter issue of the quarterly Literature and Society. The following year, in 1994, she debuted as a novelist when her short story “Red Anchor” won the New Year’s Literary Contest held by the Seoul Shinmun.
For her, the path to literature was inevitable, having grown up in a family of writers and critics. Her name, Han Kang, was chosen by her father, Han Seung-won, an 85-year-old novelist, who believed that “the simplest names are the best.” Her brother, Han Dong-rim, is also a novelist, and her younger brother studied creative writing as well.
The 54-year-old Nobel laureate has won numerous literary awards, including the Yi Sang Literary Award in 2005, the Dongni-Mogwol Literary Award in 2010, and the Hwang Sun-won Literary Award in 2015. Her father also won the Yi Sang Literary Award in 1988, making them a rare father-daughter duo to share this prestigious honor.
“[Han Kang] had loved reading and daydreaming in dark rooms since childhood,” senior Han once told the Chosun Ilbo. “She excelled in English during high school and was advised to pursue English literature, but she was determined to write novels and chose to study Korean literature instead, ultimately graduating at the top of her class from Yonsei University.”
Han Kang’s international breakthrough came with her 2007 novel “The Vegetarian.” The story follows Yeong-hye, a woman who, plagued by intense dreams, refuses to eat meat and believes she is turning into a tree. It is structured as a trilogy of narratives told from the perspectives of those around her, including her husband, brother-in-law, and sister, as she battles anorexia stemming from childhood trauma. The novel became a bestseller in South Korea, selling over one million copies. In 2016, Han became the first Korean author to win the Man Booker International Prize, alongside translator Deborah Smith, for “The Vegetarian.”
Literary critic Jeong Myeong-kyo described Han Kang as “an avant-garde writer rather than a popular novelist,” noting her deep exploration of her own style from the beginning and her persistent path in tackling major historical events, such as the May 18 Gwangju Uprising and the April 3 Jeju Incident. “Initially, she didn’t gain much attention, struggling through a long period of misunderstanding,” said Jeong. “But when she started receiving global recognition, the literary skills she had accumulated over time became her greatest asset.”
Han moved to Seoul with her family a few months before the democratic uprising in Gwangju in 1980, and during family gatherings, she often overheard relatives discussing the event or saw photo albums of it. These early experiences may have shaped her distinctive style, which approaches human violence through historical events and expresses it in her lyrical prose. In “Human Acts,” she addresses the 1980s Gwangju Uprising, while “We Do Not Part” explores the trauma of the Jeju April 3 Incident.
The 2014 novel “Human Acts,” which deals with the May 18 Gwangju Uprising, is regarded as a pinnacle of Han Kang’s literary achievement and thematic depth. The novel is filled with prose that seems to speak on behalf of the souls unjustly sacrificed. In a lecture last year, Han said, “When we look at history, we see countless forms of violence. Writing about historical events is a pledge to stand against violence and an ultimate question about human nature.”
Her 2021 novel “We Do Not Part” delves into the dark trauma of Korean history, recounting the tragedy of Jeju April 3 through the perspectives of three women. Last November, Han became the first Korean author to win the prestigious Medici Foreign Literature Prize in France for this novel. The Medici Prize, established in 1970, is one of France’s four major literary awards, previously won by authors such as Milan Kundera, Umberto Eco, Paul Auster, and Orhan Pamuk.
Han Kang has written several full-length novels, including “Black Deer” (1998), “The Vegetarian” (2007), “The Wind Blows, Go” (2010), “Greek Lessons” (2011), “Human Acts” (2014), “The Elegy of Whiteness” (2016), and “We Do Not Part” (2021). Her short story collections include “Love in Yeosu” (1995), “Yellow Pattern Eternity” (2012), and “My Woman’s Fruits” (2018). She has also published poetry collections, including “I Put the Evening in the Drawer.”
