Han Kang writes history as she accepts Nobel Prize in literature in Stockholm

Han Kang, this year's Nobel laureate in literature, receives her award from Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf during the Nobel Prize award ceremony at the Stockholm Concert Hall in Sweden, Tuesday. AP-Yonhap

Korean novelist Han Kang graced the blue carpet at the Nobel Prize award ceremony on Tuesday (local time) at the Stockholm Concert Hall in Sweden, making history as the first Asian woman to be honored with its distinguished recognition in literature.

In her remarks, Han shared her insights on writing, emphasizing literature's power to connect people, explore human existence and inspire empathy.

During the ceremony, she received a diploma and a medal from Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf. Along with the accolades, she will also be awarded the prize sum of 11 million Swedish krona ($1.03 million).

The event, attended by 1,500 dignitaries and guests, including Nobel laureates, opened with an address by Astrid Söderbergh Widding, chair of the Nobel Foundation.

This year’s literature prize is awarded to “a profound exploration of human frailty against the backdrop of historical trauma, where the abyss is always as close as is the longing for transformation,” she noted.

Han Kang, front row third from left, attends the Nobel Prize award ceremony with other laureates at the Stockholm Concert Hall in Sweden, Tuesday. EPA-Yonhap

Then came the congratulatory remarks from representatives of each prize-giving institution. Han’s award was introduced by author Ellen Mattson, a member of the Swedish Academy and the Nobel Committee for Literature.

“Two colors meet in Han Kang’s writing: white and red,” Mattson began in Swedish. “The white is the snow that falls in so many of her books, drawing a protective curtain between the narrator and the world, but white is also the color of sorrow, and of death. Red stands for life, but also for pain, blood, the deep cuts of a knife … The white and the red symbolize a historical experience that Han returns to in her novels.”

She continued that while Han’s voice can be “seductively soft, it speaks of indescribable cruelty, of irreparable loss. Blood flows from the bodies piled up after the massacre, darkens, becomes an appeal, a question that the text can neither answer nor ignore: How should we relate to the dead, the abducted, the disappeared? What can we do for them?”

Referencing Han’s latest novel, “We Do Not Part,” Mattson described it as a journey through layers of time, driven by a relentless pursuit of “seeking out the truth, unbearable though it may be.”

“Forgetting is never the goal,” she highlighted.

Although Mattson had originally planned to invite Han to the stage with a concluding phrase in Korean, she ultimately opted for English, reportedly due to her unfamiliarity with the language’s pronunciation.

Han Kang delivers a speech in English during the Nobel Banquet at Stockholm City Hall, Tuesday. AFP-Yonhap

The 70-minute ceremony was followed by the Nobel Banquet at the Stockholm City Hall, where Han delivered her acceptance speech in English.

The 54-year-old author shared a childhood memory, recalling how, at age 8, she sought shelter from a sudden downpour alongside a group of strangers. In that brief, everyday moment, she realized each person around her was “living as an ‘I’ in their own right.”

“It was a moment of wonder, this experience of so many first-person perspectives,” she reflected. This revelation lingered with her, shaping her journey as a writer who strives to send her most profound questions to those countless other “I”s through the power of language.

“What is the meaning of our brief stay in this world? How difficult is it for us to remain human, come what may? In the darkest night, there is language that asks what we are made of, that insists on imagining into the first-person perspectives of the people and living beings that inhabit this planet, language that connects us to one another,” she continued.

“Literature that deals in this language inevitably holds a kind of body heat. Just as inevitably, the (act) of reading and writing literature stands in opposition to all acts that destroy life.”

Han Kang, left, is awarded by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden during the Nobel Prize award ceremony at the Stockholm Concert Hall, Tuesday. AFP-Yonhap

Through this milestone, Han became the first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature since its inception in 1901. Her award marks Korea’s second Nobel Prize, following the Nobel Peace Prize bestowed to former President Kim Dae-jung in 2000.

This year’s event also honored John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton with the physics prize; Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun with the physiology or medicine prize; Demis Hassabis, John Jumper and David Baker with the chemistry prize; and Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson with the economic sciences prize.

In keeping with tradition, the Nobel Peace Prize was presented in Oslo, Norway, to the Japanese grassroots organization Nihon Hidankyo.