Han Kang (Korean: 한강; born 27 November 1970) is a South Korean writer. She is best known for the novel The Vegetarian, which traces a woman's mental illness and neglect from her family. In 2016, it became the first Korean language novel to win the International Booker Prize for fiction. In 2024, Han became the first Korean writer and the first Asian woman writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Han Kang | |
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Han Kang in 2017 | |
Native name | 한강 |
Born | 27 November 1970 Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, South Korea |
Occupation | Writer |
Alma mater | Yonsei University |
Genre | Fiction |
Notable works | The Vegetarian Human Acts |
Notable awards | Yi Sang Literary Award 2005 International Booker Prize 2016 Prix Médicis étranger 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature 2024 |
Spouse | Hong Yong-hee |
Parents | Han Seung-won (father) |
Website | |
www |
Korean name | |
Hangul | 한강 |
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Hanja | 韓江 |
Revised Romanization | Han Gang |
McCune–Reischauer | Han Kang |
Early life and education
Han Kang is the daughter of novelist Han Seung-won. She was born on 27 November 1970 in Gwangju and moved to Suyu-ri in Seoul at a young age. Her father struggled to make ends meet with his writing career, which negatively impacted his family. Han later described her childhood as "too much for a little child"; however, being surrounded by books gave her comfort.
Han studied Korean literature at Yonsei University. In 1998, she was enrolled at the University of Iowa International Writing Program.
Career
Han's literary career began when five of her poems, including "Winter in Seoul", were featured in the Winter 1993 issue of the quarterly Literature and Society. She made her fiction debut the next year, when her short story "The Scarlet Anchor" was the winning entry in the Seoul Shinmun Spring Literary Contest. Her first story collection, A Love of Yeosu, was published in 1995 and attracted attention for its precise and tightly narrated composition.
In 2007, Han published a book, A Song to Sing Calmly, that was accompanied by a music album. At first she did not intend to sing, but Han Jung Rim, a musician and music director, insisted that Han Kang record the songs herself.
In her college years Han became obsessed with a line of poetry by the Korean modernist poet Yi Sang: "I believe that humans should be plants." She understood Yi's line to imply a defensive stance against the violence of Korea's colonial history under Japanese occupation, and took it as an inspiration to write her most successful work, The Vegetarian. The second part of the novel, Mongolian Mark, won the Yi Sang Literary Award. The rest of the series (The Vegetarian and Fire Tree) was delayed by contractual problems.
The Vegetarian was Han's first novel translated into English, although she had already attracted worldwide attention by the time Deborah Smith translated it. There has been some controversy over the translation, as scholars have detected mistakes in it; among other things, there is concern that Smith attributed some of the dialogue to the wrong characters. The translated work won the (International Booker Prize 2016) for both Han and Smith. Han was the first Korean to be nominated for the award, and, in its English translation, it was the first Korean language novel to win the International Booker Prize for fiction.The Vegetarian was also chosen as one of "The 10 Best Books of 2016" by The New York Times Book Review.
Han's third novel, The White Book, was shortlisted for the 2018 International Booker Prize.
Han's novel Human Acts was released in January 2016 by Portobello Books. Han received the Premio Malaparte for the Italian translation of Human Acts, Atti Umani, by Adelphi Edizioni, in Italy on 1 October 2017. Her 2017 autobiographical novel The White Book centers on the loss of her older sister, a baby who died two hours after her birth.
Han's novel We Do Not Part was published in 2021. It tells the story of a writer researching the 1948–49 Jeju uprising and its impact on her friend's family. The French translation of the novel won the Prix Médicis Étranger in 2023.
In 2023, Han's fourth full-length novel, Greek Lessons, was translated into English. The Atlantic called it a book in which "words are both insufficient and too powerful to tame".
Personal life
Han's husband is Hong Yong-hee, a professor at Kyunghee Cyber University. Han has a son, with whom she was having dinner at the time of receiving news of her Nobel Prize.
Han has said that she suffers from periodic migraines, and credits them with "keeping her humble".
Awards and recognition
Han won the Yi Sang Literary Award (2005) for Mongolian Mark, the 25th Korean Novel Award for her novella Baby Buddha in 1999, the 2000 Today's Young Artist Award, and the 2010 Dong-in Literary Award for Breath Fighting.
In 2018 Han became the fifth writer chosen to contribute to the Future Library project. Katie Paterson, the project's organizer, said that Han had been chosen because she "expands our view of the world". Han delivered the manuscript, Dear Son, My Beloved, in May 2019. In the handover ceremony, she dragged a white cloth through the forest and wrapped it around the manuscript. She explained this as a reference to Korean culture, in which a white cloth is used both for babies and for mourning gowns, describing the event as "like a wedding of my manuscript with this forest. Or a lullaby for a century-long sleep".
She was elected a Royal Society of Literature International Writer in 2023.
The Vegetarian placed 49th in The New York Times's "100 Best Books of the 21st century" in July 2024.
In 2024 Han was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature by the Swedish Academy for her "intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life". This made her the first Korean writer and the first Asian woman writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Awards
- 1999 – Korean Novel Award for Baby Buddha
- 2000 – Ministry of Culture and Tourism Today's Young Artist Award – Literature Section
- 2005 – Yi Sang Literary Award for Mongolian Mark
- 2010 – Dongri Literary Award for The Wind is Blowing
- 2014 – Manhae Literary Award for Human Acts
- 2015 – Hwang Sun-won Literary Award for While One Snowflake Melts
- 2016 – International Booker Prize for The Vegetarian
- 2017 – Malaparte Prize for Human Acts
- 2018 – Kim Yu-jeong Literary Award for Farewell
- 2019 – San Clemente Literary Prize for The Vegetarian
- 2023 – (Prix Médicis étranger) for We Do Not Part
- 2024:
- Émile Guimet Prize for Asian Literature for We Do Not Part
- Ho-Am Prize in the Arts
- Nobel Prize in Literature
Works
Novels
- 여수의 사랑 ("Love in Yeosu"), Moonji, 1995, ISBN 89-320-0750-0.
- 검은 사슴 ("Black deer"), Munhakdongne, 1998, ISBN 89-8281-133-8.
- 내 여자의 열매 ("My woman's fruits"), Changbi, 2000, ISBN 89-364-3657-0.
- 그대의 차가운 손 ("Your cold hands"), Moonji, 2002, ISBN 89-320-1304-7.
- 채식주의자 ("The vegetarian"), Changbi 2007, ISBN 978-89-364-3359-8.
- 바람이 분다, 가라 ("The wind blows, go"), Moonji, 2010, ISBN 978-89-320-2000-6.
- 희랍어 시간 ("Greek lessons"), Munhakdongne, 2011, ISBN 978-89-546-1651-5.
- Greek Lessons, translated by Deborah Smith and Emily Yae Won, Hogarth, 2023, ISBN 978-0-593-59527-5.
- 노랑무늬영원 ("Yellow pattern eternity"), Moonji, 2012, ISBN 978-89-320-2353-3.
- 소년이 온다 ("Human acts"), Changbi 2014, ISBN 978-89-364-3412-0.
- Human Acts, translated by Deborah Smith, Portobello Books, London 2016, ISBN 978-1-84627-596-8.
- 흰 ("White"), Nanda, 2016, ISBN 978-89-546-4071-8.
- 작별하지 않는다 ("We Do Not Part") Munhakdongne, 2021, ISBN 978-89-546-8215-2.
- We Do Not Part, translated by Emily Yae Won and Paige Aniyah Morris, Hogarth, London 2025, ISBN 978-1-84627-695-8.
Short stories
- 내 이름은 태양꽃 ("My name is Sunflower"), Munhakdongne, 2002, ISBN 978-89-8281-479-2.
- 붉은 꽃 이야기 ("The red flower story"), Yolimwon, 2003, ISBN 978-89-7063-333-6.
- 천둥 꼬마 선녀 번개 꼬마 선녀 ("Thunder little fairy, lightning little fairy"), Munhakdongne, 2007, ISBN 978-89-546-0279-2.
- 눈물상자 ("Tear box"), Munhakdongne, 2008, ISBN 978-89-546-0581-6.
Poetry
- 서랍에 저녁을 넣어 두었다 ("I put dinner in the drawer"), Moonji, 2013, ISBN 978-89-320-2463-9.
Essays
- 사랑과, 사랑을 둘러싼 것들 ("Love and things surrounding love"), Yolimwon, 2003, ISBN 978-89-7063-369-5.
- 가만가만 부르는 노래 ("A song to sing calmly"), Bichae, 2007, ISBN 978-89-92036-27-6.
Adaptations
Baby Buddha and The Vegetarian have been made into films. Lim Woo-Seong wrote and directed Vegetarian, which was released in 2009. It was one of only 14 selections (out of 1,022 submissions) included in the World Narrative Competition of the North American Film Fest, and was noticed at the Busan International Film Festival.
Lim also adapted Baby Buddha into a screenplay, in collaboration with Han, and directed the film version. Titled Scars, it was released in 2011.
See also
- Korean literature
- List of Korean novelists
- List of Korean-language poets
- List of Korean female writers
- List of Nobel laureates in Literature
References
- "Humans As Plants". english.donga.com. Archived from the original on 13 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- "Han Kang". Literary Encyclopedia. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
Ed. by Helen Rachel Cousins, Birmingham Newman University: The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 10.2.3: Korean Writing and Culture. Vol. editors: Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University)
- Alter, Alexandra. "'The Vegetarian,' a Surreal South Korean Novel". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- "HAN Kang". The International Writing Program. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
- Korean Writers: The Novelists, Minumsa Publishing p. 78
- "[한강] 가만가만, 꿈꾸듯 노래한 한강". Archived from the original on 24 April 2016.
- Khakpour, Porochista (2 February 2016). "The Vegetarian, by Han Kang". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
- Yun, Charse (22 September 2017). "How the bestseller 'The Vegetarian,' translated from Han Kang's original, caused an uproar in South Korea". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- "Eyes that Pierce into the Hinterland of Life Novelist Han Kang". Korean Literature Now (in Korean). Archived from the original on 22 September 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
- Alter, Alexandra (17 May 2016), "Han Kang Wins Man Booker International Prize for Fiction With 'The Vegetarian'", The New York Times, archived from the original on 17 May 2016, retrieved 17 May 2016
- Fan, Jiayang (8 January 2018). "Han Kang and the Complexity of Translation". The New Yorker. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
In 2016, "The Vegetarian" became the first Korean-language novel to win the Man Booker International Prize, which was awarded to both its author, Han Kang, and its translator, Deborah Smith.
- "Han Kang's The Vegetarian wins Man Booker International Prize", BBC, 16 May 2016, retrieved 17 May 2016
- "The 10 Best Books of 2016". 1 December 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2019 – via NYTimes.com.
- "The Man Booker International Prize 2018 shortlist". The Booker Prizes. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- "Human Acts". Portobello Books. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018.
- McAloon, Jonathan (5 January 2016). "Human Acts by Han Kang, review: 'an emotional triumph'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
- DEL CORONA, MARCO. "Premio Malaparte ad Han Kang". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Archived from the original on 15 September 2017.
- "Il Malaparte 2017 ad Han Kang – Premio Malaparte". www.premiomalaparte.it (in Italian).[permanent dead link]
- Beckerman, Hannah (17 December 2017). "Han Kang: 'I was looking for answers to fundamental questions, then I realised so is every writer'". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- Creamer, Ella (10 October 2024). "South Korean author Han Kang wins the 2024 Nobel prize in literature". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
- Chihaya, Sarah (4 May 2023). "A Novel in Which Language Hits Its Limit—And Keeps On Going". The Atlantic. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- "Man Booker Int'l Prize winner Han Kang says writing book was journey for truth". Yonhap News Agency. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- "Discovering Han Kang: Nobel laureate bridging history and humanity through literature". The Chosun Daily. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- "Han Kang Interview". Nobel Prize. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- "Interview with Han Kang – The White Review". www.thewhitereview.org. Archived from the original on 27 November 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
- "Biography". Han Kang. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- Flood, Alison (31 August 2018). "Han Kang to bury next book for almost 100 years in Norwegian forest". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- Flood, Alison (28 May 2019). "Han Kang hands over book to remain unseen until 2114". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- "RSL International Writers: 2023 International Writers". Royal Society of Literature. 3 September 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- Staff, The New York Times Books (8 July 2024). "The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- "The Nobel Prize in Literature 2024". Nobel Media AB. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
- "The Nobel Prize in Literature 2024 – Press release". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
- Creamer, Ella (10 October 2024). "South Korean author Han Kang wins the 2024 Nobel prize in literature". The Guardian.
- "Han Kang becomes the first South Korean writer to win the Nobel Prize in literature". 91.9 FM WUOT, Your Public Radio Station. 10 October 2024.
- Lee, Dae Woong (11 October 2024). "소설가 한강, 노벨문학상 수상 쾌거… 아시아 여성 작가 최초" ["Novelist Han Kang Makes History as the First Asian Woman to Win the Nobel Prize in Literature"]. Christian Today (in Korean). Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- "Novelist Han Kang is Korea's first to win famed French award". Korea.net. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
- "Le Prix Émile Guimet de littérature asiatique". Musée Guimet. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- "Han Kang". The Ho-Am Foundation. 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
- Filgate, Michele (17 April 2023). "Why 'The Vegetarian' author Han Kang's newly translated novel is her gutsiest yet". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- Novey, Idra (18 April 2023). "A Narrator Locked in Silence, Who Finds Solace in an Ancient Language". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- "Book review of "Greek Lessons" by Han Kang". The Washington Post. 19 April 2023.
- Cheuk, Leland (20 April 2023). "'Greek Lessons' is an intimate, vulnerable portrayal of two lonely people". NPR.
- Woods, Cat (4 May 2023). "Han Kang's Greek Lessons". The Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- "Human Acts". Portobello Books. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018.
- "On Translating Human Acts by Han Kang – Asymptote". www.asymptotejournal.com. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- McAloon, Jonathan (5 January 2016). "Human Acts by Han Kang, review: 'an emotional triumph'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- "The Nobel Prize in Literature 2024: Biobibliography". The Nobel Prize. Swedish Academy. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ""Vegetarian" to Compete at Sundance 2010". HanCinema. Archived from the original on 13 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
External links
- Han Kang on Nobelprize.org
- Official website
- "Han Kang on How Language Misses Its Mark". The New Yorker. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- Kang, Han (28 April 2023). "Han Kang: 'One year I couldn't bear fiction and read astrophysics instead'". the Guardian. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
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