South Korean novelist becomes 1st Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature

Novelist Han Kang has made history by becoming the first Asian woman and first South Korean to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish Academy awarded her the prestigious prize for her “intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.”

A historic win: With her award, Han, 53, also became this year’s first female Nobel laureate and the second South Korean Nobel winner after former President Kim Dae-jung, who received the Peace Prize in 2000. Anders Olsson, chairman of the academy’s Nobel Committee, praised her “poetic and experimental style,” calling her “an innovator in contemporary prose” and highlighting her “unique awareness of the connections between body and soul, the living and the dead.” Han will be awarded 11 million Swedish krona ($1 million) along with a medal and certificate at the prize ceremony in Stockholm on Dec. 10. Her selection continues a near-unbroken tradition of alternating male and female recipients since 2012, following last year’s laureate, Jon Fosse of Norway.
About Han: Born in 1970 in the city of Gwangju, Han grew up in a politically charged environment, which deeply influenced her writing. Her works often confront societal norms and historical trauma, such as “Human Acts,” which centers on the 1980 Gwangju Uprising. Her breakthrough came with “The Vegetarian,” a surreal novel that won the 2016 International Booker Prize and explores themes of rebellion, identity and the human condition. Critics and scholars have celebrated her as a visionary for her bold, politically charged narratives. Speaking to The Korea Times, Kim Ho-woon, president of the Korean Writers’ Association, emphasized the national significance of her win, saying it “demonstrates that Korean culture and literature have attained a global level.”

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