About the Authors

Fiction Grand Prize

Novelist Han Kang, 37 from Gwangju, started her writing career when one of her poems was published in the seasonal magazine ``Literature and Society.'' She made her official debut with ``The Red Anchor'' through the daily Seoul Shinmun in 1994 and rapidly became one of the most promising female novelists in Korea. Han is actually from a literary family, being the daughter of celebrated writers Han Seung-won and also the sister of author Han Dong-lim.

She published her first novel ``The Love of Yeosu'' in 1995 and has since released popular works including ``Dark Deer'' (1998), ``Baby Buddha'' (1999) and ``Your Cold Hands'' (2002). ``Mongolian Mark'' is part of the her mid-length novel series, ``The Vegetarian.''

Her work is considered to be precise and compact and known to carry rather dark and depressing issues, despite her relatively young age.

After winning numerous awards including the Best Novelist award from the Hankook Ilbo in 1995 and Today's Young Artist Award from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2000, Han and her father became the first daughter-father novelists to both win the Yi Sang Literature Award in 2007 and 1988, respectively. She won the award for ``Mongolian Mark.''

Han even released an album ``Although I Said Goodbye'' last year, surprising fans by revealing her musical side with songs that she composed herself.