First reactions. Telephone interview, October 2024

”I’m so surprised and honoured”

2024 literature laureate Han Kang had just finished dinner with her son at her home in Seoul when she received the news. In this interview, she reflects on being the first South Korean literature laureate and talks about how writers as a collective have influenced her: “All their efforts and strengths have been my inspiration.”

Han Kang also talks about her writing process on the international hit The Vegetarian, and recommends her most recent book We Do Not Part for anyone who’s curious to start reading her books.

Interview transcript

Han Kang: Hello?

Jenny Rydén: Hello, is this Han Kang?

HK: Yes.

JR: Hi, my name is Jenny Rydén. I’m calling from the Nobel Prize.

HK: Yeah. So nice to talk with you.

JR: Very nice to talk to you too. Please let me first express my congratulations.

HK: Thank you. Thank you so much.

JR: How are you feeling right now?

HK: I’m so surprised and, and absolutely. I’m honoured.

JR: How did you find out about the prize?

HK: Someone called me and he talked to me about this news, so of course I was surprised. And I just finished dinner with my son and in Korea, it’s just eight o’clock in the evening. So yeah, it’s a very peaceful evening. I was really surprised.

JR: And you are in your home in Seoul?

HK: Yeah, I’m at home in Seoul.

JR: And what have you been doing today?

HK: Today? I didn’t work today and I just read a bit and I took a walk. It was kind of very easy day for me.

JR: So you said you’re with your son. What was his reaction to this?

HK: My son was surprised as well, but we didn’t have much time to talk about this. We were surprised, and that’s all.

JR: I imagine. What does it mean to you getting the Nobel Prize in literature?

HK: Yes, I’m honoured and I really appreciate your support, the support of the prize. I just appreciate it.

JR: You are the first literature laureate from South Korea. How does that feel?

HK: Yes. I grew up with books, you know, so since when I was a child, I grew up with books in Korean and translated as well. So I can say I grew up with Korean literature, which I feel very close to. So I hope this news is nice for Korean literature readers and my friends, writers.

JR: You said you come from a literary background. What writers have been your most important sources of inspiration?

HK: For me, since when I was a child, all writers have been collective. They are searching meanings in life. Sometimes they are lost and sometimes they are determined and all their efforts and all their strengths have been my inspiration. So it’s very difficult for me to pick some names of the inspiration. It’s very difficult for me.

JR: I read that the Swedish author, Astrid Lindgren, has been one source of inspiration for you?

HK: Yeah. When I was a child, I loved her book, Lionheart Brothers. And I love that book, but I cannot say she’s the only writer who inspired my childhood. When I read that book, Lionheart Brothers, I could relate it with my questions about humans or life and death.

JR: For someone just discovering your work, where would you suggest they start?

HK: Among my books? I think every writer likes his or her most recent book. So my most recent book is We Do Not Part or it is called I Do Not Bid Farewell or Impossible Goodbyes. I hope this book could be a start. And Human Acts is connected directly with this book We Do Not Part. And then The White Book, which is very personal book for me. Because it’s quite autobiographical. And there is The Vegetarian. But I feel the start could be We Do Not Part.

JR: For an international audience, maybe The Vegetarian is most well-known. What would you say that particular novel has meant for you?

HK: I wrote it for three years, and those three years were kind of difficult years for me for some reasons. So I think I was struggling to find the images of this protagonist, people who are surrounding her, and the image of trees and sunlight and everything was so vivid in those three years.

JR: I will let you go in a short while. Do you have any ideas on how you will celebrate this Nobel Prize?

HK: After this phone call I’d like to have tea – I don’t drink – I’m going to have tea with my son and I’ll celebrate it quietly tonight.

JR: Very nice. Yes. Many congratulations again. Thank you so much.

HK: Thank you.

JR: Okay. Goodbye.

HK: Take care. Bye.

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