Han Kang of South Korea wins literature Nobel Prize

She is the first South Korean and first Asian woman to win the award

South Korea celebrates author Han Kang's Nobel Prize in literature
Han Kang's 2007 novel 'The Vegetarian' won the International Booker Prize in 2016
(Image credit: Jung Yeon-Je / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

Poet and author Han Kang was awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize for Literature Thursday, becoming the first South Korean and first Asian woman first to win the prestigious literary honor. Han has earned several awards in South Korea and Europe, and her 2007 novel "The Vegetarian" won the International Booker Prize in 2016, a year after it was translated into English.

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Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.