▲ Han Kang, the Author
The award ceremony where novelist Han Kang will become the first Korean and the first Asian woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature is just a day away.
The 2024 Nobel Prize ceremony will be held on December 10th at 4 PM local time at the iconic Concert Hall in Stockholm, Sweden.
In Korea, this will occur at midnight on December 10th.
At the Concert Hall, the event’s hallmark ‘Blue Carpet’ will be laid out.
Music will announce the start of the event when King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden enters, followed by the arrival of the laureates.
It is not yet known what Han Kang will wear.
During the ceremony, men are required to wear tailcoats, and women evening dresses, though wearing traditional attire from one’s country is also allowed.
After the Nobel Foundation Chairman Astrid Bidding’s brief speech, the official award ceremony will commence.
Awards will be presented in five categories, excluding the Peace Prize awarded in Oslo, Norway, and will proceed in the order of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Economic Sciences.
The representative from each awarding institution will give a brief speech before announcing the laureates, after which the Swedish king personally presents the medal and Nobel diploma to each laureate.
This year’s Literature Prize awarding speech will be managed by Ellen Mattson, a Swedish novelist and one of the 18 permanent members of the Swedish Academy involved in the laureate selection.
The Nobel diploma awarded to laureates features different illustrations each year.
The Literature Prize diploma is particularly unique, being made of leather parchment.
After the approximately hour-long award ceremony, the event moves to the Stockholm City Hall for a banquet starting at 7 PM.
The banquet, held in the ‘Blue Hall’ of the City Hall, is a large event attended by 1,300 people, including the king, laureates, members of the Nobel Foundation and Academy, major figures, and media representatives.
It begins with a toast by the king in memory of Alfred Nobel, featuring dining, photo sessions, and musical performances for over five hours.
Laureates will have the opportunity to share their acceptance speech around 10:35 PM once the banquet concludes.
Attention is on what Han Kang will say as this will be the only time the laureates speak during the event.
The celebrations conclude with a ball in the ‘Golden Hall,’ decorated with 18 million gold mosaics.
Han Kang is busy attending various events during the ‘Nobel Week.’
She donated cherished items to the Nobel Museum on December 6th and attended a press conference. On December 7th, she gave a lecture considered her ‘Acceptance Speech.’
On December 8th, she enjoyed the ‘Nobel Prize Concert’ at the Stockholm Concert Hall.
On December 12th, she will attend an event where her works will be read.
Many events paying tribute to Han Kang’s literary achievements are taking place throughout Stockholm.
On the afternoon of December 8th, the ‘Literary Night’ event was held opposite the City Hall, where the works of female Nobel Literature Prize laureates were read in their native languages or in Swedish.
Han Kang’s “No Goodbye” was read alongside works by Grazia Deledda from Italy, Annie Ernaux from France, and Olga Tokarczuk from Poland.
In Korean, it was read by Shin Mi-seong (45), and in Swedish by actress Anna Sise (53).
Shin stated, “I work at the Stockholm Municipal Art Museum and attended upon the recommendation of the Korean Cultural Center in Sweden. I’m delighted that a Korean author is receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature and am honored to participate in such an event.”
Anna Sise commented on “No Goodbye,” which deals with the Jeju 4.3 Incident, stating, “My father is from West Africa, and I believe reading such works is important to understand the tragedies that happened to my ancestors, as the pain and anger persist across generations.”
(Photo=Yonhap News)