Writer Kim Hyun-a: "I hope to receive it for 'The Boy is Coming'"
A video featuring writer Kim Hyun-ah, who predicted two years ago that Han Kang would win the Nobel Prize in Literature, is gaining attention.
At a book concert organized by Network RE in August 2022, writer Kim Hyun-ah said, "I think a Korean writer will win the Nobel Prize in Literature within the next five years." With a confident tone, she added, "I just feel it. I have a good intuition." She specifically pointed to Han Kang as a potential laureate, saying, "I hope Han Kang wins the Nobel Prize in Literature as the first Korean with 'The Boy Who Escaped'."
In fact, the Swedish Academy explained on the 10th that Han Kang was selected as the Nobel Prize in Literature laureate for "her powerful poetic prose confronting historical trauma and revealing the fragility of human life." Han Kang's 'The Boy Who Escaped' is a novel centered on the late Moon Jae-hak, the youngest civilian soldier during the May 18 Democratic Uprising.
Born in 1967 in Geochang, Gyeongnam, writer Kim Hyun-ah has published works such as 'War of Memories, Memory of War' and 'If You Go There, That Woman Is There.'
Meanwhile, Han Kang's works reportedly sold over 530,000 copies from the night of the 10th, when the award news was announced, until noon on the 13th. During this period, Kyobo Bookstore sold about 260,000 copies, and the online bookstore Yes24 sold about 270,000 copies. This averages to 136 copies sold per minute. In print books, 'The Boy Who Escaped' ranked first in sales, while 'The Vegetarian' received the most love in eBook and foreign book categories.
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