In this issue, we are highlighting the life story of the first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, Han Kang. Ms. Kang was awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize for her famous novel “The Vegetarian” in the year 2024.
Han Kang was born in the year 1970 in a South Korean metropolis named Gwangju. Han Kang’s father, Han Seung-won is a well-known South Korean novelist recognized for his contributions to modern Korean literature. His influence has likely played a role in shaping Han Kang’s literary interests and career. Han Kang completed her early education in Gwangju, before moving to Seoul with her family around the age of 10. She continued her schooling in Seoul, where she developed a deep interest in literature and poetry. During her school years, she was particularly influenced by the works of Korean writers including her father, as well as global literary figures. Writing as a career for her father was not that good and he had difficulty in paying the bills for the family and that had a negative effect on the upbrings of the children in the family. This was acknowledged by Ms. Kang in later life, and she mentioned the hardships faced as a child as “too much for a little child”.
For her higher education, Han Kang attended Yonsei University, one of South Korea’s most prestigious institutions, where she studied Korean literature. Her time at Yonsei was significant in developing her literary skills, as she immersed herself in both classical and contemporary literature. It was during her university years that she began writing seriously, eventually making her literary debut in 1993 with a poem published in Literature and Society. Her education at Yonsei provided her with the foundation to explore various themes in her writing, such as trauma, violence, identity, and the human condition. The Vegetarian is Han Kang’s internationally acclaimed novel, first published in South Korea in 2007 and later translated into English in 2015. The book won the Man Booker International Prize in 2016, bringing Han Kang global recognition and the Nobel Prize in 2024. She has authored several other novels and poem collections which also could receive global recognition.
