By UN Journal Kayla Lee

Novelist Han Kang, 53, has become the first South Korean author to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Han received the notification from Sweden's Hanlim Institute on Oct. 10 (local time) and said she thought it was a voice phishing when she heard it. “I'm very surprised and honored,” she said.

The Swedish Academy described Han's work as “intensely poetic prose that confronts historical trauma and reveals the fragility of human life,” and praised her original style and innovation in contemporary prose.

Han won the Booker International Prize for The Vegetarian in 2016, raising the profile of South Korean author in global literary awards. With this honor, she became the first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. 

The prize money that comes with the Nobel Prize is 11 million kronor (about 1.43 billion won), which is tax-free. According to Article 18 of the Enforcement Decree of the Income Tax Act, the Nobel Prize is considered non-taxable miscellaneous income.

President Yoon Suk-yeol congratulated Han Kang on the award, saying that she “has transformed the painful wounds of our modern history into great literary works.” The news of Han Kang's prize has sparked a “Han Kang fever,” with her works selling out in bookstores.

With the announcement of the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Han Kang's name and representative works were featured on the official Nobel Prize website, and her book publisher, Changbi, is expecting a flood of orders.

The winner of the Nobel Prize will receive a cash prize, a medal, and a certificate, and the announcement of the winners of the Peace Prize and the Economics Prize will follow the announcement of the Literature Prize.