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 91裸聊视频渃onfronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.91裸聊视频�

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 91裸聊视频淭he Vegetarian91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淗uman Acts,91裸聊视频� that explore the pain of being human and the scars of Korea91裸聊视频檚 turbulent history.

Nobel literature committee member Anna-Karin Palm said Han writes about 91裸聊视频渢rauma, pain and loss,91裸聊视频� whether individual or collective, 91裸聊视频渨ith the same compassion and care.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淎nd this, I think, is something that is quite remarkable,91裸聊视频� Palm said.

Nobel committee chairman Anders Olsson praised Han91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频渆mpathy for the vulnerable, often female lives91裸聊视频� of her characters.

91裸聊视频淪he has a unique awareness of the connections between body and soul, the living and the dead,91裸聊视频� 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 country91裸聊视频檚 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-ho91裸聊视频檚 Oscar-winning 91裸聊视频� ,91裸聊视频� the Netflix survival drama 91裸聊视频淪quid Game91裸聊视频� and the worldwide fame of groups like BTS and BLACKPINK.

Han, 53, won the International Booker Prize in 2016 for 91裸聊视频淭he Vegetarian,91裸聊视频� an unsettling novel in which a woman91裸聊视频檚 decision to stop eating meat has devastating consequences.

At the time of winning that award, Han said writing novels 91裸聊视频渋s a way of questioning for me.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚 just try to complete my questions through the process of my writing and I try to stay in the questions, sometimes painful, sometimes 91裸聊视频� well 91裸聊视频� sometimes demanding,91裸聊视频� she said.

With 91裸聊视频淭he Vegetarian,91裸聊视频� she said, 91裸聊视频滻 wanted to question about being human and I wanted to describe a woman who desperately didn91裸聊视频檛 want to belong to the human race any longer.91裸聊视频�

Han made her publishing debut as a poet in 1993; her first short story collection was published in 1995 and her first novel, 91裸聊视频淏lack Deer,91裸聊视频� in 1998. Works translated into English include 91裸聊视频淭he Vegetarian,91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淕reek Lessons,91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淗uman Acts91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淭he White Book,91裸聊视频� a poetic novel that draws on the death of Han91裸聊视频檚 older sister shortly after birth. 91裸聊视频淭he White Book91裸聊视频� was an International Booker Prize finalist in 2018.

Her most recent novel, 91裸聊视频淲e Do Not Part,91裸聊视频� is due to be published in English next year. It confronts a chapter in South Korea91裸聊视频檚 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.

91裸聊视频淗uman Acts91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� which Olsson, the Nobel committee chair, called a work of 91裸聊视频渨itness literature91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� is based on the real-life killing of pro-democracy protesters in Han91裸聊视频檚 home city of Gwangju in 1980. The book won Italy91裸聊视频檚 Malaparte Prize in 2017.

Anders Karlsson, a lecturer at London91裸聊视频檚 School of Oriental and African studies who has translated Han into Swedish, said he was 91裸聊视频渙verjoyed91裸聊视频� at the Nobel accolade.

He said Han91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频減oignant, condensed91裸聊视频� prose is able to describe 91裸聊视频渄ifficult and dark passages in South Korean history 91裸聊视频� in quite open and inviting language that engages and does not deter the reader.91裸聊视频�

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 year91裸聊视频檚 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 91裸聊视频� John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton 91裸聊视频� 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 award91裸聊视频檚 creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. The laureates are invited to receive their awards at ceremonies on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel91裸聊视频檚 death.