SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - A northern Seoul district has given an honorary name to a stretch of road near the childhood home of Nobel laureate Han Kang, seeking to turn growing international interest in Korean literature into a local cultural asset.
Gangbuk-gu said Thursday that the 463-meter section in Ui-dong has been designated “Nobel Literature Road.” The route comprises 307 meters of Samyang-ro 165-gil and a 156-meter section of Samyang-ro 169-gil.
The streets surround an old house where Han spent part of her childhood and school years. District officials said the area helped nurture the literary sensibility that would later shape her work.
The honorary name was selected after a survey of local residents. Honorary road names are symbolic designations used to highlight historical figures, cultural landmarks or tourism resources associated with an area. They are assigned separately from existing street names and do not change residents’ official legal addresses.
The district said the project was intended to connect heightened interest in Korean literature following Han’s Nobel Prize victory with the neighborhood’s cultural heritage. It also aims to create a symbolic space where visitors can reflect on the author’s life and body of work.
“We will do our utmost to make Nobel Literature Road a place where people can remember Han’s literary world and share the value of Korean literature,” Gangbuk-gu Mayor Jeong Chang-su said.
Han, born in the southwestern city of Gwangju in 1970, moved to Seoul with her family when she was nine. She began her literary career as a poet in 1993 before turning primarily to novels and short stories.
She became the first South Korean writer to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2024. The Swedish Academy honored her for her “intense poetic prose” exploring historical trauma and the fragility of human life.
Han gained international prominence through The Vegetarian, which won the International Booker Prize in 2016. Her other major works include Human Acts, The White Book, Greek Lessons and We Do Not Part.
Ui-dong is a relatively quiet neighborhood on Seoul’s northern outskirts, situated between Bukhansan and Dobongsan mountains. Known for its wooded valley, the area is a popular retreat for residents and serves as one of the main gateways to Bukhansan National Park and its hiking trails.
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