Meet Han Kang, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature

South Korean writer Han Kang attends a photocall at the Edinburgh International Book Festival at Charlotte Square Gardens in Edinburgh, Scotland, on August 17, 2016. Photo credit: Roberto Ricciuti/Getty Images

AAuthor Han Kang was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature on October 10 for her “intense poetic prose,” according to a press release from the Royal Swedish Academy.

Kang's work focuses on “historical trauma,” colonial violence and the “fragility” of humanity, the academy said. The South Korean author is known for works such as The Vegetarian—which won the International Booker Prize in 2016 –The White Paper, human actions, And Greek lessons. The literary prize is awarded for an author's entire work, not for a specific text. Like all Nobel laureates, Kang won 11 million crowns ($1.1 million) for the prize.

“I am so surprised and feel so honored,” Kang told the Nobel Museum in a phone call shortly after learning of the honor. “So I can say that I grew up with Korean literature, which I feel very connected to. So I hope this news will be happy for Korean literary readers and my writer friends.” She further said she will celebrate “quietly” by drinking tea with her son.

Kang is the first South Korean person and the first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

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“Han Kang writes intense, lyrical prose that is both tender and brutal,” said Anna-Karin Palm, co-opted member of the Nobel Prize Committee for Literature, in an interview with the Nobel Prize Museum after the announcement. “There is a continuity in terms of themes, which is quite remarkable, but at the same time there is a great deal of stylistic variation that makes each book a new aspect or a new expression of these central themes.”

Kang, 53, has been a writer for over 30 years, but The vegetarian– first published in 2007 – was her first novel, which was translated into English in 2015 and received widespread acclaim and attention. She won awards for her other works, including the Manhae Literature Prize and the Kim Yujung Literature Prize

Kang was born in Gwangju in 1970 but grew up in Suyuri and currently lives in Seoul. She studied Korean literature at Yonsei University. Her first published works were five poems in 1993, and the following year she made her fiction debut with a short story. The vegetarian, The book that brought her worldwide fame is about a woman who decides to stop eating meat after having vivid dreams about slaughtering animals. It explores themes such as isolation, social conformity and violence.

The only other South Korean to win a Nobel Prize is the country's former president, Kim Dae-jung, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his efforts to restore democracy in South Korea and for his “sunshine policy” toward North Korea.

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