South Korean author Han Kang, winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature, signs autographs during the 18th Pony Chung Innovation Award ceremony in Seoul, South Korea on Thursday (Oct. 17, 2024). , Photo Credit: AP
Author Han Kangfirst south korean win the nobel prize for literaturesaid on Thursday (October 18, 2024) that he hoped his daily life would not change much after his historic honour.
Short story writer and novelist best known abroad for his Man Booker Prize-winning “The Vegetarian”, his first novel translated into English.
The 53-year-old, who also became the first Asian female writer to win the Nobel, was chosen for “her deeply poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and highlights the fragility of human life,” the Swedish Academy said last week.
Winning the Nobel was “a happy and grateful moment, and I celebrated quietly that night,” he said at an awards ceremony in Seoul.
Han Kang’s win caused a sensation in South Korea, with the websites of major bookstores and publishing houses crashing after its announcement and thousands of people rushing to order his books.
He said, “The past week, in which so many people joined in my joy as if it were their own, will be remembered for me as a special and touching experience.”
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As of Wednesday (October 16, 2024) morning, at least 1.06 million copies, including e-books, had been sold since the Nobel announcement last Thursday (October 10, 2024), bookstores reported. AFP Their sales were “phenomenal” and dramatically increased sales of South Korean literature overall.
The author said she hopes to continue her normal routine focused on writing.
“I hope and believe that my everyday life will not change much,” he said.
“I’m someone who connects with the world through my writing, and I hope to continue writing and meeting readers through my books, as I always have.”
“I do not drink alcohol. Recently, I have stopped consuming all caffeine, including coffee, for health reasons. I now rarely travel, which I once enjoyed. In other words, I am often asked , ‘What do you think is fun in life?’ Instead, I enjoy walking,” she said.
She said she is currently working on completing a novel she started in the spring, which she hopes will be ready for release next year.
She added, “But since I often misjudge my writing time, I can’t give a concrete answer about when it will actually be completed.”
She has three more books in mind to write, she said, and hopes to devote the next six years of her life – before she turns 60 – to them.
“However, as is always the case, I suspect that I will have ideas for more books as I write them, and I will never stop thinking about the books I want to write,” He said.
“It makes me worry that I might not be able to die properly, always thinking about the next three books I want to write.”
published – October 18, 2024 11:11 am IST