VOA文化艺术2024--Han Kang, First South Korean Writer to Win Nobel in Literature

South Korean writer Han Kang won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday. The Swedish Academy's Nobel Committee said her work "confronts historical traumas² and exposes the fragility of human life."

Born in 1970, Han Kang is the first South Korean to win the literature prize. Kang began her career in 1993 with the publication of several poems in Literature and Society. She published her first story in 1995 with Love of Yeosu.

In 2016, Kang won the Man Booker International Prize for The Vegetarian³. It tells the story of a woman's decision to stop eating meat and her family's worry about her mental health. The novel was the first of her books to be translated into English and was seen as her major international breakthrough.

In a talk with the Booker Prizes, published last year, Kang said the book was written during a difficult period in her life. She questioned whether she could finish the story or even survive as a writer.

"I was suffering from severe arthritis⁴...To this day, I feel awkward when I hear about the novel's 'success,'" she said.

In the novel Human Acts, Kang explored the 1980 killing⁵ of hundreds of students and unarmed civilians⁶ by the South Korean military in the city of Gwangju, where she grew up.

"In seeking to give voice to the victims of history, the book confronts this episode with brutal⁷ actualization and, in so doing, approaches the genre⁸ of witness literature," the Academy said.

One of two South Korean Nobel winners

Kang is the second South Korean to win a Nobel Prize. Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his efforts to restore democracy in the South and improve relations with North Korea.

The literature prize has long faced criticism that it is too centered on European and North American writings. It has also been awarded mainly to male writers. Kang is only the 18th woman to receive the award among more than 100 winners.

Past winners of the prize include well-known writers like Irish poet W.B. Yeats, American writer Ernest Hemingway and Colombia's Gabriel Garcia Marquez. In 2016, American singer Bob Dylan also received the prize "for having created new poetic⁹ expressions within the great American song tradition"

Mats Malm is Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy. He told reporters, "I was able to talk to Han Kang over the phone. She was having an ordinary day, it seems, she had just finished supper with her son."

The prize comes with a money award of $1.1 million.

Words in This Story

trauma¹ - n. a very difficult or unpleasant experience that causes someone to have mental or emotional problems usually for a long time

fragile - adj. easily broken or damaged

novel - n. a long written story usually about imaginary characters and events

arthritis - n. a disease that causes the joints¹⁰ of the body to become swollen¹¹ and painful

brutal - adj. very direct and accurate in a way that is harsh or unpleasant

genre - n. a particular type or category of literature or art

supper - n. the evening meal - used especially to refer to an informal meal that you eat at home

1 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

2 traumas   

n.心灵创伤( trauma的名词复数 )；损伤；痛苦经历；挫折

参考例句：

• She felt exhausted after the traumas of recent weeks. 她经受了最近几个星期的痛苦之后感到精疲力竭。
• Conclusion: Safety lens of spectacles can protect the occurrence of ocular traumas. 结论：安全镜片可以预防眼镜碎片所致的眼外伤。 来自互联网

3 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

4 arthritis   

n.关节炎

参考例句：

• Rheumatoid arthritis has also been linked with the virus.风湿性关节炎也与这种病毒有关。
• He spent three months in the hospital with acute rheumatic arthritis.他患急性风湿性关节炎，在医院住了三个月。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

7 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

8 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

9 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

10 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

11 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。