Opinion: Conflict in South Korea reopens the very wounds examined in this year’s Nobel laureate’s work
LA TimesWhen the Nobel committee recognized Han Kang in October for her body of work exploring “the fragility of human life,” it could not have known how relevant the theme would feel in South Korea just two months later. Han, the first Korean writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, has long been interested in the existence of the victims of violence, as explored in the context of the Gwangju democratic movement of 1980 in “Here Comes the Boy” or the Jeju uprising of 1948-49 in “No Goodbye.” By drawing out the historical traumas that have left deep scars in Korea’s modern history, the novelist seeks to remember and heal them. The Nobel is sure to increase interest in Han’s work and to attract readers around the world, including to “The Vegetarian,” which was published in English in 2016, and next month’s English translation of “We Do Not Part.” I expect the award will increase interest in Korean literature in general. Readers around the world who delve into Han’s writing and also follow the news from South Korea will appreciate the bizarre incongruity that my country is experiencing now: We are celebrating a Nobel laureate who explored our past, while we also feel anew the threat of a coup d’état, martial law and state violence.
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South Koreans react with joy and amazement at writer Han Kang’s Nobel win
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