Han Kang was born on November 27, 1970, in Gwangju, South Korea. At the age of ten, she moved with her family to the Suyuri district of Seoul, where she spent most of her life. She currently resides in Seoul.

Education

Han Kang studied Korean literature at Yonsei University, one of South Korea’s leading higher education institutions. In 1998, she participated for three months in the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa in the United States, supported by a scholarship from the Korea Arts Council.

Literary Career

Han Kang began her literary career with poetry, and five of her poems were published in the winter issue of Munhak-gwa-sahoe (Literature and Society) in 1993. In 1994, she won an award in the Spring Literature Competition organized by the Seoul Shinmun newspaper for her short story “Red Stamp,” and subsequently turned to short story writing.

Her first short story collection, Yeosu, was published in 1995 by Munji Publishing. Throughout her career, Han Kang has produced works in poetry, short stories, and novels. Her narratives are noted for their connections between individual experience and social events.

Works

Novels

• Black Deer (1998)
• Your Cold Hands (2002)
• The Vegetarian (채식주의자, 2007)
• Breath Fighting (2010)
• Greek Lessons (2011)
• Human Acts (2014)
• The White Book (2016)
• I Do Not Bid Farewell (2021)

Short Story Collections

• Fruits of My Woman (2000)
• Fire Salamander (2012)

Poetry Collection

• I Put the Evening in the Drawer (2013)

Awards

National Awards

• 1999: 25th Korean Novel Award for the short story Baby Buddha
• 2000: Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s “Young Artist of the Year” Award
• 2005: Yi Sang Literature Award for the short story Mongol Spot
• 2010: Dongri Literature Award for the work Ink and Blood
• 2014: Manhae Literature Prize for Human Acts
• 2015: Hwang Sun-won Literature Award for the short story While One Snowflake Melts
• 2018: Kim Yujung Literature Award for the novella Farewell

International Awards

• 2016: International Booker Prize for The Vegetarian
• 2017: Malaparte Prize in Italy for Human Acts
• 2019: San Clemente Prize in Spain for The Vegetarian
• 2019: Selected as the fifth author for Norway’s “Future Library” project; her work Dear Son, My Beloved will not be published until 2114
• 2023: Prix Médicis in France for I Do Not Bid Farewell
• 2024: Émile Guimet Prize for I Do Not Bid Farewell
• 2024: Nobel Prize in Literature
• • The Nobel Committee awarded her the prize for “her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.”

Han Kang receiving the Nobel Prize from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (The Nobel Prize)