The Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to 53-year-old South Korean author Han Kang for her prose work, which includes novels, novellas, essays, poetry, and short story collections that explore themes of patriarchy, violence, sorrow, and humanity.
The official announcement from the Academy said that the award was given to her for her “intensely poetic prose that reflects historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.” The committee’s permanent secretary contacted Han Kang, who “appeared to be having a normal day—she had just finished lunch with her son and was not prepared for this.”
Can Xue (China), César Aira (Argentina), and Ersi Sotiropoulou (Greece) were also among the “favorites” of betting companies for the Nobel Prize.
From her body of work, the novels “Greek Lessons” and “The Vegetarian” have been translated into Greek. “The Vegetarian” (2007) was the first of her works to be translated into English and won the 2016 International Booker Prize. It is about a woman in Seoul who suddenly decides to stop eating meat, which leads her to withdraw from her family and society.
She is the first woman from Asia to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature and the second person from South Korea to receive a Nobel Prize. The last time the Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to an author of Asian descent was in 2017 to Japanese author Kazuo Ishiguro, while former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000.
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