Novelist Han Seung-won, left, poses for a photograph together with his daughter, novelist Han Kang, on this 2005 file photograph supplied by the writer Munhak Sasang. Yonhap
Korean novelist Han Seung-won, father of the nation’s first Nobel laureate in literature, on Friday expressed astonishment at his daughter Han Kang’s win, saying it felt as if “the world had been turned the other way up.”
Talking from his residence in Jangheung, about 321 kilometers south of Seoul, the daddy shared his response throughout an interview with an area radio program. “I used to be fully shocked,” he mentioned, admitting he by no means anticipated his daughter to obtain such a prestigious honor.
“There have been many cases the place (the Nobel committee) selects somebody surprising,” Han mentioned. “I suppose I had this thought that my daughter might win out of the blue, however I by no means actually counted on it.
His daughter’s victory Thursday marks a historic second for Korea, bringing the nation its first-ever Nobel Prize in literature.
Han Kang obtained a telephone name from the Nobel Prize committee about 10 minutes earlier than the official announcement, based on the daddy.
Concerning his daughter’s literary model, the 85-year-old novelist commented that she portrays tragedy “in a really profound, stunning, and sorrowful manner.”
“I believe she’s been talked about as an creator with particular significance since ‘The Vegetarian.’ Then got here ‘Human Acts,’ adopted by ‘We Do Not Half.’ Because the Gwangju rebellion and the April 3 Incident grew to become linked, there is a form of love for the delicate people who really feel trauma from state violence and the world. I believe that is what the judges picked up on.”
He was referring to the pro-democracy civil rebellion that occurred within the southwestern metropolis of Gwangju in 1980 and the 1948 civilian bloodbath on Korea’s southern island of Jeju by the federal government.
“There’s nothing to discard in Kang’s novels. Each is a masterpiece. This is not only a case of a hedgehog pondering its personal offspring is fairly.”
Born in 1939 in Jangheung, he debuted as a novelist in 1968. He has since been a prolific author, with works together with “Aje aje bara-aje,” “Chusa” and “The Lifetime of Dasan.” Most not too long ago, he revealed an autobiographical novel, titled “The Path of People,” early this yr. (Yonhap)
