‘Shocked and Grateful’: South Korea’s Han Kang Speaks About Nobel Prize for Literature

SEOUL – Han Kang, the first South Korean and Asian woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, spoke officially for the first time on the evening of October 11 through her editors, expressing shock and gratitude for the “huge waves” of congratulations from all over the world. world.

“I am grateful to have been chosen as a laureate. The amount of warm words of congratulations that poured in throughout the day like a huge wave surprised me,” Han said in a statement released by his publishers, Munhakdongne Publishing and Changbi Publishers.

“I was initially shocked by the news, and the sense of reality and excitement slowly began to sink in when I hung up the call (from the announcement),” she said.

Editors said Han will not hold a press conference in Seoul, a decision his father and novelist Han Seung-won mentioned earlier in the day.

Han met with local reporters at her home in Jangheung County, South Jeolla Province, where she said: “I initially advised her to choose one of her publishers and hold a press conference, and she agreed. However, when we spoke again this morning (October 11), she told me she had changed her mind.”

Explaining her decision, her father said: “Her perspective changed from a writer living in Korea to a more global one. She said that with wars raging between Russia and Ukraine, between Israel and Palestine, with deaths being reported every day, she could not hold a commemorative press conference. She asked for understanding in this matter.”

The two editors said Han plans to share more insights through his acceptance speech at the awards ceremony, which will take place in Stockholm on December 10.

Munhakdongne Publishing published Ms. Han’s novels We Do Not Part, The White Book and Greek Lessons, while Changbi Publishers released The Vegetarian and Human Acts.- THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK