Nobel laureate Han Kang shuns celebrations, citing global crises

SEOUL, October 11 (AJP) - South Korean novelist Han Kang, the first woman from Asia to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, expressed her deep gratitude on Friday for the outpouring of congratulatory messages following her award.

Congratulatory flower baskets are placed in front of the home of Nobel laureate Han Kang on Oct. 11, 2024. Yonhap

In a statement released by her publishers, Han said she was "overwhelmed" by the warm reception to the news. "I was surprised when I first received the call," she said. "After hanging up, the reality and emotion slowly sank in."

Han's father, Han Seung-won, revealed that she had decided not to hold a press conference in light of the ongoing global conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Her publishers announced that she would not participate in any separate interviews and would instead share her thoughts during her acceptance speech in Stockholm on December 10.

The 85-year-old father conveyed his daughter's sentiments, stating his daughter told him, "With the war escalating and innocent lives being lost daily, how can we celebrate or hold a press conference?" She expressed her belief that it would be inappropriate to do so during such a time of global suffering, the father said.

A banner congratulating author Han Kang on winning Nobel Prize in Literature is hung on the campus of Yonsei University, where she studied, on Oct. 11, 2024. Yonhap

The Swedish Academy announced Han as the 2023 Nobel laureate on Thursday, recognizing her "intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life." She is the second South Korean to win a Nobel Prize, following former President Kim Dae-jung, who was awarded the Peace Prize in 2000.
AJP

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