From K-Pop stars to the president, along with anonymous readers, the whole of South Korea is rejoicing at the Nobel Prize for Literature won by writer Han Kang on Thursday, October 10. The Swedish Academy’s choice of a novelist recognized “for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life” flatters the pride of a country mindful of any form of international recognition.
“This is a monumental achievement in the history of Korean literature and a cause for national celebration for the entire population,” President Yoon Suk Yeol wrote on his Facebook page. Yoon praised a work that has “transcended the painful wounds of our modern history to make a great literary work.”
“Congratulations. I read Human Acts [2014] when I was doing my military service,” V, a member of boy band BTS, posted on social media. Singer Hynn – real name Park Hye-won – revealed that she chose her stage name after reading The White Book (2016), “hynn” meaning “white” in Korean.
Han’s prize triggered a rush for her books. The websites of South Korea’s two leading online bookstores, Kyobo Book Centre and Yes24, were inundated with requests. In the half-day following the Nobel Committee’s announcement, over 130,000 books by the native of Gwangju (in the South) were sold on the two platforms.
Beyond this, it is the international recognition of South Korean literature that is being hailed. “Conflicts are breaking out all over the world. Han Kang’s work is a breath of fresh air. The Swedish Academy appreciated this aspect of her work,” Lee Hyun-ja, editorial director of the publishing house Munhakdongne, told the center-left daily newspaper Hankyoreh.
The same newspaper praised the awarding of a prize for the first time to “an Asian woman,” while the Korea Herald praised the writer’s “quiet literary revolution.”
“Korean culture, films and K-Pop are spreading around the world. This Nobel represents a pinnacle for Korean culture,” added Yeom Jong-seon, CEO of Changbi Publishers, which published The Vegetarian (2007). Kwak Hyo-hwan, former president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea and ardent promoter of South Korean literature abroad, noted that “since The Vegetarian won the International Booker Prize in 2016, timely translation opportunities haven’t dried up. A bevy of Korean authors are benefiting from Ms. Han’s success.”
A taste of revenge
This prize also sounds like revenge in a country that had won only one Nobel, the Peace Prize awarded in 2000 to former president Kim Dae-jung (1924-2009) for the so-called “sunshine” policy of rapprochement with North Korea.
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