English editions of Han Kang's works: from left, "The Vegetarian," "Human Acts," "Greek Lessons," "The White Book" and "We Do Not Part"

South Korean author Han Kang has been awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in literature, becoming the first South Korean to receive one of the world’s most prestigious literary honors.

Born in November 1970 in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, Han moved to Seoul with her family at the age of nine. She studied Korean literature at Yonsei University and comes from a literary background, her father Han Seung-won being a reputed novelist.

Her literary career began in 1993 when she published several poems in the winter edition of the quarterly magazine Literature and Society. Han made her prose debut in 1995 with the short story collection "Love of Yeosu," and won the Seoul Shinmun New Writer's Contest with her short story “Red Anchor.”

Since then, she has been honored with numerous awards throughout her career, establishing a unique body of work that addresses universal human issues such as death and violence through poetic and lyrical prose. Most recently, in April, she received the Samsung Ho-Am Prize, which recognizes individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the advancement of science, culture and the betterment of humanity.

The Nobel Committee said, Han's oeuvre "confronts historical traumas and invisible sets of rules and, in each of her works, exposes the fragility of human life. She has a unique awareness of the connections between body and soul, the living and the dead, and in her poetic and experimental style has become an innovator in contemporary prose."

'The Vegetarian'

Han’s first novel to be translated into English, "The Vegetarian," (published in 2007 in Korean) was a major international breakthrough, winning the International Booker Prize in 2016. She became the first Korean to achieve the feat.

Translated by Deborah Smith, the book in three parts portrays the violent consequences that unfold when protagonist Yeong-hye refuses to eat meat after violent nightmares. Her decision is forcibly rejected by her husband and authoritarian father, while she is also exploited erotically and aesthetically by her brother-in-law. Ultimately, she is committed to a psychiatric clinic, where her sister attempts to rescue her and bring her back to a normal life. However, Yeong-hye sinks ever deeper into a psychosis-like condition slowly becoming "a tree."

Boyd Tonkin, the chairman of the Booker judging panel, said then, “In a style both lyrical and lacerating, it reveals the impact of this great refusal both on the heroine herself and on those around her. This compact, exquisite and disturbing book will linger long in the minds, and maybe the dreams, of its readers.”

'The White Book' and 'Greek Lessons'

"The White Book" (published in 2016, translated into English by Deborah Smith in 2017) follows a nameless narrator who focuses on the color white to creatively channel her inner pain. The book was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2018.

"Greek Lessons" (published in 2011, translated into English by Deborah Smith and Emily Yae Won in 2023) centers on an extraordinary relationship between two vulnerable individuals -- a young woman who loses the ability to speak following a string of traumatic experiences, and her Ancient Greek teacher, who is losing his sight.

'Human Acts' and 'We Do Not Part'

Han's two historical novels vividly depict the deep shadows and wounds of modern Korean history. "Human Acts" (2014, translated into English by Deborah Smith in 2016), deals with the Gwangju Democratization Movement, while "We Do Not Part" (2021), recounts the tragedies of the Jeju April 3 Incident. Han said she considers the two historical books "a pair."

In "Human Acts," Han draws from the historical event that took place in Gwangju, where she herself grew up. During the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising, hundreds of students and unarmed civilians were murdered during a massacre carried out by the South Korean military in 1980.

Han has shared that she experienced nightmares after writing "Human Acts."

"We Do Not Part" (released in Korean in 2021) marked her return to the literary scene five years after winning the International Booker Prize in 2016.

Soon to be published in English next year, translated by Emily Yae Won and Paige Morris, the novel explores the tragic events of the Jeju April 3 Incident through the eyes of Gyeong-ha, who visits her friend In-seon after an accident. During her visit, Gyeong-ha confronts the island's painful history through visions of In-seon’s mother, Jeong-sim.

The story unfolds in the shadow of a massacre that took place in the late 1940s on South Korea’s Jeju Island, where tens of thousands of people, among them children and the elderly, were shot on suspicion of being collaborators, according to an introduction by the Nobel Committee.

The book portrays the shared mourning process undertaken by the narrator and her friend In-seon, who both, long after the event, bear with them the trauma associated with the disaster that has killed their relatives.

What's next?

In November last year, during a press conference after winning the Prix Medicis, a prestigious French literary award, for "We Do Not Part," Han said that she plans to write a novel about life.

"I've been thinking about life a lot lately. We are all born and given a one-time life, and whether we want it or not, we have to give it back someday. I want to explore the meaning of being alive," said Han.

"I have said for a long time that I will write a ‘bright’ novel. I am not making any such promises anymore. I will probably write it as it comes, but my heart wants to move on from winter to spring.”