Dubai: South Korean author Han Kang received the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm on Tuesday, December 10. The ceremony annually takes place on the death anniversary of Swedish chemist and inventor Alfred Bernhard Nobel.
The prestigious award, announced in October, recognised her "intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life."
Han's Nobel Prize win came just days after South Korea experienced a brief period of martial law. The author expressed shock at the political turmoil.
Han's literary works have captivated readers worldwide. Her novel "The Vegetarian" won the International Booker Prize in 2016, propelling her to international fame. The book explores themes of identity, societal expectations, and the human body.
Her more recent novels 'We Do Not Part', and 'Human Acts', have seen a surge in popularity following her Nobel Prize win, according to South Korean news reports.
Han is the first Asian female winner in literature and the second South Korean Nobel laureate after former President Kim Dae-jung, who was awarded the peace prize in 2000.
According to an earlier report on the South Korean news agency, Yonhap's website: "Han was born in 1970 in the southwestern city of Gwangju as the daughter of novelist Han Seung-won. She later moved to Seoul with her family and graduated from Yonsei University, majoring in Korean language and literature.
"She began her literary career in 1993 by publishing poems in the winter issue of the quarterly 'Literature and Society'. The following year, she made her debut as a novelist when her short story 'Red Anchor' won a literary contest hosted by the Seoul Shinmun daily.
"She is acclaimed for creating a unique literary world that explores universal human issues, through a poetic and lyrical style."
Han's other notable works include 'Yeosu', 'The Fruit of My Woman', 'Your Cold Hands', 'Black Deer', 'The Wind is Blowing' and 'Greek Lessons'.
The Swedish Academy recognises achievements in literature, science, medicine, economics and peace. The prizes were created through the will of Swedish scientist and businessman Alfred Nobel and have been awarded since 1901, with the economics prize being a later addition.
Previous laureates include American novelist Ernest Hemingway, English author Rudyard Kipling, Irish playwright Bernard Shaw, French writer Albert Camus and Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez. In 2016, American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan became the first musician to win the award.
This year, the Nobel Prize was worth 11 million Swedish kronor(Dh3,671,623), to be shared equally between the laureates.
