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Nobel Prize winner Han Kang hopes ‘Human Acts’ will be access road to understanding Gwangju uprising

December 13, 2024

Han Kang, this year’s laureate of the Nobel Prize in literature, attends a meeting with Korean reporters at a publishing house in Stockholm on Dec. 11, 2024. (Yonhap)

Han Kang, this year’s laureate of the Nobel Prize in literature, hopes her novel “Human Acts” will be an access road to understanding the May 18, 1980, pro-democracy people’s uprising in Gwangju to many people.

“I was all the more cautious since this novel depicts a real incident,” the South Korean author said during a meeting with Korean reporters at a publishing house in Stockholm on Wednesday (local time). “I hoped this book would be something like an access road to understanding the Gwangju uprising.”

“Human Acts,” one of the major novels by the 54-year-old writer, tells the story of Dong-ho, a fictional middle-school student victimized during a bloody crackdown of the pro-democracy uprising that took place in the southwestern city of Gwangju on May 18, 1980.

She recommended people to read the novel first before moving to “We Do Not Part,” which is linked to the first book, when asked which of her novels people should read first.

“If you prefer a less intense book, I think it would be good to read ‘The White Book’ or ‘Greek Lessons,’” she added. “As for ‘The Vegetarian,’ it might be helpful to read it after reading other books rather than starting with it, as it could aid in understanding.”

She also shared her thoughts about the Novel Prize win and her future plans.

“While writing lectures, I was led to reflect a lot on my past, and I was able to grasp my ‘coordinates’ — where I am now, where I started from, and how I got here,” she answered when asked about the meaning of the prize win.

She continued, I’ve been writing all along, and I don’t think there’s any reason why writing should become more difficult in the future, so I intend to continue writing as I have been.”

The various thoughts this has prompted have been very meaningful to me.”

: Han Kang, this year’s laureate of the Nobel Prize in literature, attends a meeting with Korean reporters at a publishing house in Stockholm on Dec. 11, 2024. (Yonhap)

Regarding her future plans, Han Kang said she will complete the last part of her trilogy following “While a Single Snowflake Melts” and “Farewell,” both titles literally translated.

“There’s a trilogy that seemed like it would never end. The last part I started writing changed in structure and became longer, turning into the novel ‘We Do Not Part.’ So I had planned to finish the trilogy by this winter, but it has been delayed because there was a lot to prepare (for the Nobel Prize win).”

Han Kang also said she needs to write the book that she previously said would be formally connected to the novel “The White Book” next.

She earlier revealed in her lecture Saturday that she was writing a novel about her older sister who passed away early in life.

There also were questions about the chaotic domestic political situation following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived martial law declaration, but Han responded, “I learned about the situation through news reports until I left Korea last Thursday, but since arriving here, I’ve been too busy to properly examine it.”

She added, “I haven’t grasped the content enough to make any comments.”

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