South Korean poet and novelist Han Kang was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature Thursday for a poetic and unsettling body of work that the Nobel committee said 香蕉视频直播渃onfronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.香蕉视频直播�

A slow-burning international literary star who has won multiple awards in Korea and Europe, Han is the first Asian woman and the first South Korean writer to win the Nobel literature prize. She was awarded for books, including 香蕉视频直播淭he Vegetarian香蕉视频直播� and 香蕉视频直播淗uman Acts,香蕉视频直播� that explore the pain of being human and the scars of Korea香蕉视频直播檚 turbulent history.

Nobel literature committee member Anna-Karin Palm said Han writes about 香蕉视频直播渢rauma, pain and loss,香蕉视频直播� whether individual or collective, 香蕉视频直播渨ith the same compassion and care.香蕉视频直播�

香蕉视频直播淎nd this, I think, is something that is quite remarkable,香蕉视频直播� Palm said.

Nobel committee chairman Anders Olsson praised Han香蕉视频直播檚 香蕉视频直播渆mpathy for the vulnerable, often female lives香蕉视频直播� of her characters.

香蕉视频直播淪he has a unique awareness of the connections between body and soul, the living and the dead,香蕉视频直播� Olsson said.

Han is the second South Korean national to win a Nobel Prize. Late former President Kim Dae-jung won the peace prize in 2000 for his efforts to restore democracy in South Korea during the country香蕉视频直播檚 previous military rule and improve relations with war-divided rival North Korea.

Han wins the Nobel at a time of growing global influence of South Korean culture, which in recent years has included the success of films like director Bong Joon-ho香蕉视频直播檚 Oscar-winning 香蕉视频直播� ,香蕉视频直播� the Netflix survival drama 香蕉视频直播淪quid Game香蕉视频直播� and the worldwide fame of groups like BTS and BLACKPINK.

Han, 53, won the International Booker Prize in 2016 for 香蕉视频直播淭he Vegetarian,香蕉视频直播� an unsettling novel in which a woman香蕉视频直播檚 decision to stop eating meat has devastating consequences.

At the time of winning that award, Han said writing novels 香蕉视频直播渋s a way of questioning for me.香蕉视频直播�

香蕉视频直播淚 just try to complete my questions through the process of my writing and I try to stay in the questions, sometimes painful, sometimes 香蕉视频直播� well 香蕉视频直播� sometimes demanding,香蕉视频直播� she said.

With 香蕉视频直播淭he Vegetarian,香蕉视频直播� she said, 香蕉视频直播滻 wanted to question about being human and I wanted to describe a woman who desperately didn香蕉视频直播檛 want to belong to the human race any longer.香蕉视频直播�

Han made her publishing debut as a poet in 1993; her first short story collection was published in 1995 and her first novel, 香蕉视频直播淏lack Deer,香蕉视频直播� in 1998. Works translated into English include 香蕉视频直播淭he Vegetarian,香蕉视频直播� 香蕉视频直播淕reek Lessons,香蕉视频直播� 香蕉视频直播淗uman Acts香蕉视频直播� and 香蕉视频直播淭he White Book,香蕉视频直播� a poetic novel that draws on the death of Han香蕉视频直播檚 older sister shortly after birth. 香蕉视频直播淭he White Book香蕉视频直播� was an International Booker Prize finalist in 2018.

Her most recent novel, 香蕉视频直播淲e Do Not Part,香蕉视频直播� is due to be published in English next year. It confronts a chapter in South Korea香蕉视频直播檚 turbulent 20th-century history that saw the country endure war, the division of the Korean peninsula and dictatorship. The novel deals with a 1948-1949 uprising on Jeju, an island south of the Korean mainland in which thousands of people were killed.

香蕉视频直播淗uman Acts香蕉视频直播� 香蕉视频直播� which Olsson, the Nobel committee chair, called a work of 香蕉视频直播渨itness literature香蕉视频直播� 香蕉视频直播� is based on the real-life killing of pro-democracy protesters in Han香蕉视频直播檚 home city of Gwangju in 1980. The book won Italy香蕉视频直播檚 Malaparte Prize in 2017.

Anders Karlsson, a lecturer at London香蕉视频直播檚 School of Oriental and African studies who has translated Han into Swedish, said he was 香蕉视频直播渙verjoyed香蕉视频直播� at the Nobel accolade.

He said Han香蕉视频直播檚 香蕉视频直播減oignant, condensed香蕉视频直播� prose is able to describe 香蕉视频直播渄ifficult and dark passages in South Korean history 香蕉视频直播� in quite open and inviting language that engages and does not deter the reader.香蕉视频直播�

The literature prize has long faced criticism that it is too focused on European and North American writers of style-heavy, story-light prose. It has also been male-dominated, with just 17 women among its 119 laureates until this year香蕉视频直播檚 award. The last woman to win was Annie Ernaux of France, in 2022.

Six days of Nobel announcements opened Monday with Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun winning the medicine prize. Two founding fathers of machine learning 香蕉视频直播� John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton 香蕉视频直播� won the . On Wednesday, three scientists who discovered powerful techniques to decode and even design novel proteins were awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry.

The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced Friday and the economics award on Monday.

The prize ($1 million) from a bequest left by the award香蕉视频直播檚 creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. The laureates are invited to receive their awards at ceremonies on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel香蕉视频直播檚 death.