Han Kang's Nobel Prize win Thursday brought the recognition Koreans have long sought: For decades Koreans have been fixated on the question of when Korea would win a Nobel Prize in literature. As novelist Kim Young-ha noted in his message of congratulations, the question of whether the Korean language, once threatened with extinction during the Japanese colonial era, could find its rightful place in world literature has haunted the collective consciousness of Koreans since liberation. The w

Books Oct. 13, 2024

Author Han Kang's unpublished manuscript which has been sealed and locked away in Oslo, Norway is getting renewed attention following her Nobel Prize in literature win. The manuscript is shrouded in mystery -- its content, length and format unknown -- only its title, “Dear Son, My Beloved,” has been revealed. The manuscript is part of the Future Library art project launched in Norway in 2014. Each year, a writer is invited to contribute a manuscript that explores the themes of i

Books Oct. 13, 2024

Han Kang, the first South Korean and Asian to be decorated with the Nobel Prize in literature, spoke officially for the first time late Friday evening through her publishers, expressing shock and gratitude towards “enormous waves” of congratulations from across the world. “I am grateful for being chosen as the laureate. The amount of warm words of congratulations that poured in throughout the day like an enormous wave surprised me,” said Han in a statement released by her

Books Oct. 11, 2024

The 2024 Nobel Prize winner in literature, Han Kang has reportedly expressed that she will not be holding a press conference, according to her father, novelist Han Seung-won. According to media reports in Korea, Han Seung-won met with local reporters at his home in Jangheung County, South Jeolla Province, where he said, "I initially advised her to choose one of her publishers and hold a press conference, and she agreed. However, when we spoke again this morning (Friday), she told me she had

Books Oct. 11, 2024

Korean novelist Han Seung-won, father of the country’s first Nobel laureate in literature, said Friday that he felt “as if the world had been turned on its head” upon hearing his daughter's win. Speaking from his home in Jangheung, South Jeolla Province, Han shared his reaction during a local radio interview. “I was stunned, and it didn’t feel real,” he said. “There have been many instances where the Nobel committee selects someone very unexpected. I sup

Books Oct. 11, 2024

South Korean novelist Han Kang, who won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday, said she will "celebrate quietly tonight" having tea with her son. "I'm so surprised and I'm absolutely honored," Han said in a phone interview with the Swedish Academy in a video released shortly after the winning announcement. Speaking in English, Han said she had just finished dinner with her son at home in Seoul, and they were both very surprised by the news. "I didn

Books Oct. 11, 2024

Winning the Nobel Prize in literature means that Han Kang and "The Vegetarian" are now acknowledged, legitimized and confirmed forever in the canon of the greatest writers and books ever published in the world, said Barbara J. Zitwer in an interview with The Korea Herald on Thursday. Zitwer, founder of her eponymous New York-based literary agency, is one of the pioneers in introducing Korean literature abroad. As the agent who championed "The Vegetarian," she previously menti

Books Oct. 10, 2024

South Korean author Han Kang has been awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in literature, becoming the first South Korean to receive one of the world’s most prestigious literary honors. Born in November 1970 in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, Han moved to Seoul with her family at the age of nine. She studied Korean literature at Yonsei University and comes from a literary background, her father Han Seung-won being a reputed novelist. Her literary career began in 1993 when she published se

Books Oct. 10, 2024

South Korean author Han Kang has won this year's Nobel Prize in literature, becoming the first South Korean to be honored with one of the world's most prestigious literary awards. The Swedish Academy's Nobel Committee announced the winner Thursday in Stockholm. Han was recognized “for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life,” said Mats Malm, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy. The committee said that &q

Books Oct. 10, 2024

BUSAN -- The Busan International Performing Arts Market (BPAM) concluded its five-day run Tuesday in the southern harbor city. The marketplace, organized by the Busan Foundation for Culture, aims to facilitate the domestic and international distribution of various performance genres, including dance, theater, music and multidisciplinary art. The event drew more than 300 industry professionals and 700 artists from 37 countries, including executives and programmers from major international festiva

Performance Oct. 9, 2024

With the opening of a classical concert hall and an opera house next year, Busan is gearing up to position itself as an international city for the performing arts, said Lee Mee-yeon, CEO of the Busan Cultural Foundation. Speaking at the Busan International Performing Arts Market, now in its second year, Lee expressed her hopes for the event’s growing impact. “Many works produced in Busan are often confined only locally. That’s why we launched BPAM last year -- to promote distri

Culture Oct. 9, 2024

Three French architects -- Anne Lacaton, Jean Philippe Vassal and Jean-Michel Wilmotte -- shared their core philosophies that have guided their decades-long careers during an architecture roundtable and Q&A following their presentations at the Herald Design Forum 2024, held in Seoul, on Tuesday. “The most important thing will be for whom we are doing this work,” said Lacaton, the Pritzker Prize-winning architect who received the award with Vassal in 2021. “Architecture is a

Arts & Design Oct. 9, 2024

“The 63 Building is a major landmark in Seoul. It will soon become an icon that promotes the Centre Pompidou Seoul," said Jean-Michel Wilmotte, the celebrated French architect, during a session at the Herald Design Forum 2024. The 76-year-old architect -- with three offices in Paris, one in Nice, two in Italy, one in London and one in Seoul -- has been chosen to refurbish 15,000 square meters of the Yeouido skyscraper, from the underground level to the fourth floor above ground, for t

Arts & Design Oct. 9, 2024

Space, matter and light define beautiful architecture, says renowned French architecture luminary Jean-Michel Wilmotte, who has been chosen to design the Centre Pompidou Hanwha Seoul, set to open in 2025. Celebrated for his visionary work at locations such as the Louvre Museum and the Elysee Palace, the 76-year-old architect will speak at the Herald Design Forum 2024, scheduled to take place at Sevit Island in Seoul on Tuesday under the theme of “Inspiration, Limitless?” In a written

Arts & Design Oct. 6, 2024

The 24th Seoul Performing Arts Festival (SPAF) kicked off Thursday with Seongbukdong Beedoolkee Theater's "Gulliverse," a play loosely inspired by Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels." Directed by Kim Hyun-tak, the production presents multiple actors portraying young Gullivers navigating different societal landscapes, as the Gullivers have become trapped in the worlds within their smartphones. Running at Daehakro Arts Theater in Daehangno, English subtitles wi

Performance Oct. 4, 2024