The South Korean writer Han Kang (born in Gwangju on November 27, 1970) is the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature 2024. The prize was awarded to her bySwedish Academy in recognition of his writing stylewhich interweaves poetry and prose, and of themes addressed in his works, which offer profound reflections on human fragility and resilience. The Nobel is one of the highest honors in the world of literature, awarded to writers of prose and poetry who have enriched the world’s cultural heritage with their art. Han Kang she wasn’t among the favorites on the eve and his victory was welcomed with enthusiasm and curiosity, joining the list of great authors awarded in the past, such as Gabriel García Márquez, Kazuo Ishiguro, Annie Ernaux or, to name just a few Italians, Giosué Carducci, Luigi Pirandello and Grazia Deledda . Han Kang is the second youngest Nobel winner after Rudyard Kipling, who won it in 1907, at the age of 41, and is the 17th woman in history to win the prize.
Who is Han Kang: biography and main literary works
Han Kang (born in Gwangju, South Korea, November 27, 1970) is 53 years old, the daughter of the novelist Han Seung-won and is best known for novels such as The Vegetarian, Human acts And Greek classin which they are told complex and deeply human stories. The author began writing from a young age, but her official debut dates back to the 1990s with her first story, Red Anchor, published in 1993 in a South Korean literary magazine. From the beginning he showed a profound sensitivity in dealing with the themes of human suffering, memory and identity, characteristics that later defined his most mature and famous works.
The Vegetarian (2007) won the Man Booker International Prize in 2016. The novel tells the story of Yeong-hye, a South Korean woman who decides to stop eating meat. From here the author explores the rejection of violence and the search for an alternative existence through the refusal of food, turning into a personal rebellion against social and family norms, and of metamorphosis, with a prose that makes everyday life disturbing and surreal. .
Human Acts (2014) faces the 1980 Gwangju massacre. The book collects the testimonies of those who experienced that tragedy, mixing the voices of the living and the dead in a story that explores trauma, loss and memory. It is a work that delicately deals with collective pain and reflects deeply on the scars left by history, helping to bring out the universal value of Han Kang’s writing. This ability to transform historical tragedy into a poetic and universal reflection is closely linked to the motivations of the Swedish Academy, which recognized in its work the strength of “address historical traumas and reveal the fragility of human life”.
Greek class (published in Korean in 2011) is a work that focuses on the intimacy of memory and loss, using the metaphor of classical language to explore family ties and the voids left by those who are no longer with us. Reflection on language as a tool for dealing with pain and the past is intertwined with themes dear to the author, such as the fragility of existence and the ability to find beauty even in the most painful experiences.
The reasons for Han Kang’s victory
The Swedish Academy has awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize for Literature to Han Kang
“for his intense poetic prose that addresses historical traumas and reveals the fragility of human life.”
It is a eulogy that summarizes the essence of the South Korean author’s writing, capable of exploring the darkest sides of the human condition and shedding light on difficult issues with a rare sensitivity. She herself said:
“Like many writers of my generation I feel I have obtained the freedom to investigate the most intimate and hidden aspects of human beings without the guilt of those who feel they have to make political proclamations through literature.”
His narrative thus often develops in a non-linear manner, like a stream of consciousness that delves into memories and traumatic experiences. This expressive mode is what led the Swedish Academy to define his prose as “poetic”, capable of transforming suffering into art.
In awarding Han Kang the 2024 Nobel Prize for Literature, the Academy thus wanted to recognize a writing that challenges convention and which finds its strength in the exploration of human vulnerability. His work does not offer simple answers but invites those who read it to confront the ambiguities of life, the silent violence and the secrets that shape our identity.