[한강, 한국 첫 노벨문학상]
Literary world: “Now to the center of world literature”
Hangang’s works published in 76 books in 28 languages
“I think it shows that Korean literature has entered the center of world literature. This means that the narrative centered on Western white men has shifted to Asian women.”
After hearing the news that novelist Han Kang (54) won the Nobel Prize in Literature on the 10th, Lee Gwang-ho, CEO of Literature and Intelligence, said this in a phone call. He said, “Korean is on the periphery of world literature, so translation is a difficult task, but it is important that (the work) has reached a level where it can be recognized at the center of world literature.” Poet Jeong Hyeon-jong, who took a creative writing class when Han Kang was a student at the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Yonsei University, also said, “(Han Kang) has a special talent,” and added, “It’s something to be happy and congratulate.”
Literary circles reacted excitedly to the news of Han Kang’s award. Poet Kwak Hyo-hwan said, “I have said many times that Korean literature has become visible, but I am glad that it has been received a few years earlier than expected.” He added, “The status of Korean literature has risen rapidly recently, and I think this is why Han River received the award.” did it
There was also an opinion that the award would once again raise the status of Korean literature, which was strong in short stories. ‘The Vegetarian’, Han Kang’s representative work and winner of the Man Booker Prize in 2016, is a collection of three short stories, including ‘The Vegetarian’, ‘Mongolian Spot’, and ‘The Flame of the Tree’. Literary critic Kang Dong-ho said, “It is truly a blessing in disguise for K literature.” He added, “There has been public opinion that Korea is at a disadvantage when it comes to the Nobel Prize in Literature because its short stories are stronger than those of other countries. “It’s done,” he said. He said, “Han Kang’s work has the strength of remembering and evoking historical trauma through artistic sentences with poetic style and deep thinking.”
Among Korean literary writers, the writers who were first mentioned as Nobel Prize winners were Hwang Seok-young and Ko Eun. Han Kang chose a literary method that was distinctly different from these others and created a remarkable record by becoming the first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Woo Chan-je, a professor of Korean literature at Sogang University, said, “Hwang Seok-young and Go Eun wrote stories about division and war in a 20th-century realist style, but Han River fantastically unfolds events that started from historical trauma.” “It breathes life into a small human being who had to suffer and gives a narrative,” he said.
There is also an analysis that attempts to translate Korean literature overseas have borne fruit. Han Kang’s works have been translated into 28 languages with support from the Literature Translation Institute of Korea and published in 76 books around the world.
With the news of Han Kang’s award, it was revealed that large bookstore websites such as Kyobo Bookstore and Yes24 were inundated with book orders to the point where they were paralyzed at one point.
Reporter Sa Ji-won [email protected]
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