Author Han Kang, the first Korean to win the Nobel Prize in Literature

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yoo In-chon congratulated and encouraged author Han Kang, the first Korean to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, at the 38th Book Day ceremony on Friday, October 11.

Minister Yoo In-chon sent a congratulatory message, emphasizing that Han Kang’s award this time is not only highly symbolic in the history of Korean literature, but also a monumental event in that she is the first Asian female writer to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, and calling it a proud achievement for the Korean literary and publishing industries.

With the support of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, author Han Kang’s works have been translated into 28 languages, and a total of 76 books have been introduced to readers around the world. In particular, author Han Kang has received recognition for her literary achievements in the 2016 Booker Prize International Category for The Vegetarian and in 2017 for No Goodbye, which won the Prix Médicis and the Émile Guimet Asian Literature Prize . These works have been translated into various languages, including English, French, and Chinese, and have garnered much attention in the global publishing market. In addition, the Arts Council Korea has provided continuous support to author Han Kang since her debut, including support for her participation in international creative writing programs (1998), support for new writers (2000), and support for her participation in the Warsaw University Residency in Poland (2014).

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to continue to provide various support to promote Korean literature more widely around the world, taking advantage of author Han Kang’s Nobel Prize win. It plans to expand the resident writer project and the writer writing space support project so that authors can continue their creative activities stably, and to strengthen the literature sharing book distribution project. In addition, a new project to highlight excellent Korean literary works and promote criticism will also be launched.

Minister Yoo In-chon said that with this award, Korean literature has come one step closer to the center of world literature, and expressed his intention to continue providing support to create an environment where writers can focus on their creations and so that Korean literature can be loved more by readers around the world.

Editor. Kim Min-song