The 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to South Korean author Han Kang "for her powerful poetic prose that addresses historical traumas and reveals the fragility of human life."

The Nobel Committee announced the Literature Prize at the Swedish Academy, following three days of announcements for Nobel prizes in Medicine, Physics, and Chemistry.

In her body of work, Han Kang tackles historical traumas and the invisible rules that govern life, highlighting the fragility of human existence in each piece. The Academy noted her exceptional understanding of the relationships between body and soul, the living and the dead, and praised her innovative approach to contemporary prose through her poetic and experimental writing style.

Anders Olsson, chair of the Nobel committee, praised Kang for her palpable empathy for vulnerable, often female lives, which is enhanced by her metaphorically rich prose. He noted her unique understanding of the connections between body and soul, the living and the dead, and recognised her as an innovator in contemporary prose through her poetic and experimental style.

Kang started her career in 1993 by publishing several poems in the magazine Literature and Society, followed by her prose debut in 1995 with the short story collection Love of Yeosu.

Kang was born in Gwangju, South Korea, in 1970, and her family moved to the Suyu-dong neighbourhood of Seoul when she was 10. She studied Korean literature at Yonsei University in the capital.