Han Kang receives Nobel Prize in Literature in Sweden

By Im Yoon-seo Posted : December 11, 2024, 11:28 Updated : December 17, 2024, 08:09
 
Novelist Han Kang delivers her acceptance speech after receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature in Stockholm, Sweden on Dec. 11, 2024. Yonhap
SEOUL, December 11 (AJP) - Novelist Han Kang received the Nobel Prize in Literature in Stockholm, Sweden on Tuesday, becoming the first South Korean and the first Asian woman to be awarded the honor.

 


She was presented with the prize, along with a Nobel medal, by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden during a ceremony at Stockholm's prestigious concert hall Konserthuset.

Han is the 121st Nobel Literature laureate and only the 18th woman to win since the prize's inception.

She follows former President Kim Dae-jung who won the Peace Prize in 2000, as the second Korean to receive a Nobel Prize.

After the hour-long ceremony, the laureates were invited to a banquet at Stockholm City Hall's Blue Hall, joined by 1,200 guests, including Sweden’s king and prime minister. The banquet featured dinner, musical performances, and speeches from the laureates.

During her speech, Han, dressed in black, reflected on her work and life, saying "Ever since I was a child, I have wanted to understand the reason we are born and why suffering and love exist."

She said, "These questions have been asked by literature for thousands of years and continue to be asked today. What is the meaning of our brief stay in this world?"

She also spoke about literature's role in connecting people and opposing violence. "Language that connects us to one another..... Just as inevitably, the world calls reading and writing literature, standing in opposition to all acts that destroy life. I would like to share the meaning of this award, which is for literature, with you, standing here in opposition to violence together," Han said.

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