The writer Han Kang, winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature, answered questions from the press at a briefing held in a publisher’s office in Stockholm, Sweden, on the 11th (local time). Han Kang, the first Asian woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, spoke about the ongoing chaos in Korea due to martial law, saying, “I don’t think it’s all so awful.”
On December 12 (local time), at the “Night of Nobel Readings” event held at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, Yukiko Duke, a local translator who hosted the event, asked Han Kang how awful it was to have to leave the country for the Nobel Prize amidst such confusing circumstances. Han Kang, who left the country two days after the martial law was declared, said, “I’m not fully aware of the situation since then,” but added, “I was deeply moved by the sincerity and courage shown by the citizens.” She emphasized that “I don’t think this situation is absolutely awful” and that “it’s not as despairing as it might appear from the outside.”
Han Kang made similar remarks at an official press conference held on the 6th. However, considering most of the audience at this event were Swedish, it is interpreted as her reiterating her beliefs and views. Regarding the protest for President Yoon’s resignation near the National Assembly building in Yeouido, Seoul, Han mentioned, “Many from my generation, who carry the trauma of Gwangju, or those older than me, have attended the protest,” saying, “knowing how much worse the situation could get if left alone, everyone was able to act with concern and awareness.”
When asked whether the atmosphere was created because people read her novel “The Boy is Coming,” Han replied humbly, saying, “While it might have served as an entry point to Gwangju for the younger generation, saying so would be an exaggeration.” However, she expressed gratitude by recalling, “I did see photos of people reading my book a little away from the protest site, which moved me.”
Han also revisited the photo album that inspired “The Boy is Coming,” containing pictures of Gwangju in May 1980, which she first saw in her father’s study. Reflecting on seeing the photo album at the age of twelve, Han said, “My questions were, ‘How can humans be so violent? Simultaneously, how can humans stand against such overwhelming violence? What does the fact that we belong to the human species truly mean?'”
She concluded by expressing that writing a novel is about pursuing these questions, writing through questions, sensations, and the images that captivate her at that time.