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[Korea Quiz] Han Kang

By Korea Herald

Published : Oct. 23, 2024 - 09:19

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Born in November 1970 in Gwangju, Han Kang's literary career began in 1993 when she published poems in the winter edition of the quarterly magazine, "Literature and Society."

Since then, she has been honored with numerous awards, writing work that addresses universal human issues such as death and state violence through intense poetic prose. Most recently, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature, becoming the first South Korean and the first Asian woman to be decorated with the prize.

The Swedish Academy’s Nobel Committee, in announcing Han’s award on Oct. 10, remarked, “In her oeuvre, Han confronts historical traumas and invisible sets of rules, revealing the fragility of human life.”

Of her works, two delve into human suffering and resilience against the backdrop of Korea’s turbulent modern history. "Human Acts” deals with memories of the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising and massacre; "We Do Not Part" recounts the tragedy and inherited grief of the April 3 Incident in the late 1940s on the southern island of Jeju.

“The Vegetarian,” Han’s first book to be translated into English, was a major international breakthrough, winning the International Booker Prize in 2016. The book tells the story of Yeong-hye, whose decision to stop eating meat and adopt a vegetarian lifestyle leads to dramatic consequences for her and her loved ones.

"Please Look After Mom" is a novel by another Korean author, Shin Kyung-sook. The international bestseller, which won the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2012, portrays the heartbreaking story of an elderly mother who disappears, prompting family members to reflect on their treatment of her throughout their lives.

Answer: (c)