K-Content News

(News Focus) Han Kang: Nobel laureate who explores intersection of violence, beauty, human resilience

  By Woo Jae-yeon

SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korean author Han Kang, the 2024 winner of the Nobel Prize in literature, has delved into universal human themes, such as violence and death, through her distinctive poetic and experimental writing style.

In her most recent novel, "We Do Not Part" (2021), she addresses fragile -- yet resilient -- human life caught in historical trauma, portraying the tragedy of a 1948 civilian massacre on South Korea's southern island of Jeju through the perspectives of three women.

The Jeju uprising on April 3, 1948, was a protest against U.S. military-led rule that the then government falsely labeled as a communist revolt, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians.

The novel's lead character, Jung-shim, appears outwardly frail and sorrowful, yet never ceases her grieving and farewells. The author has noted Jung-shim's determination to fight until the very end forms the heart of the book, symbolizing resilience and perseverance in the face of tragic historical circumstances.

After winning the prestigious Man Booker International Prize for "The Vegetarian" in 2016, she shared a life-changing experience from her early teens: her novelist father, Han Seung-won, had shown her a book filled with photos of the victims of the 1980 Gwangju civil uprising against an oppressive government.

That moment, she said, led her to ask "fundamental questions" about human nature. Her search for truth helped shape "The Vegetarian." Though the photo book and the novel, which tells the story of a married woman who stops eating meat after a nightmare about human cruelty and dreams of becoming a tree, seem outwardly unrelated, Han said they are "connected like the roots of a tree beneath the ground."

Han is dedicated to exploring a world where beauty and violence coexist. "Humans risk their lives to save a child who has fallen onto the railroad tracks, yet at the same time, commit atrocities like those in the Auschwitz concentration camp," she has said. These two extremes of human nature inspired her literary journey, with violence emerging as a central, recurring theme in her work.

In "Human Acts" (2014), Han delved even deeper into this theme. The novel follows a boy searching for his friend's corpse in the aftermath of the Gwangju student uprising, while grappling with the possibility of life in a world where violence and beauty are inseparable.

Writing the novel was "a journey of asking my own questions and seeking answers," she has said, adding, "Though it was at times painful and challenging, I made an effort to stay immersed in the process for as long as I could."

Her next project may take a more personal turn, as she hinted in November after winning France's prestigious Prix Medicis for "We Do Not Part," published in France under the title "Impossibles adieux." The book will be published in English in January.

Han, who made her literary debut as a poet in 1993, said she wanted to explore more personal themes after writing a series of novels centered on historical events.

"I've had enough of feeling cold, as it snows so much in 'We Do Not Part.' I would like spring to come," she said.

Reflecting on life, she added: "Lately I've been thinking a lot about what it means to be alive. We are given this one-off life as a gift, whether we like it or not, and must eventually return it. I want to develop the idea of being alive and write about spring."