"Reading Han Kang's Works Inspired Me to Join the Square"...Celebratory Events Held Throughout Gwangju

"Celebratory Readings, Performances, and Lectures
for the Nobel Prize in Literature"

Han Kang, the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate, held a press conference on the 6th (local time) at the Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. Photo by Yonhap News

"All my questions were directed toward love."

On the afternoon of December 10, an event celebrating author Han Kang's Nobel Prize in Literature was held at the Geosigi Hall of the Gwangju Biennale in Buk-gu, Gwangju. At the entrance to the venue, a space was set up for visitors to hand-copy passages from Han Kang's works. Citizens appeared busy transcribing sentences from books they had read.

Kang Sunggu (39), whom we met at the event, said, "It's a bit embarrassing, but I read 'Human Acts' because Han Kang won the Nobel Prize in Literature. The scenes from the May 18 Gwangju Uprising, which I only vaguely knew about, came vividly before my eyes, and it also motivated me to attend the daily rallies in the square after the recent declaration of martial law."

On this day in Gwangju, events were held throughout the city to celebrate Han Kang as the first female author from both South Korea and Asia to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.

A boy holding a Taegeukgi flag and a poster attends the celebration event for author Han Kang's Nobel Prize in Literature held on the 10th in Buk-gu, Gwangju. Photo by Song Bohyun

In Dong-gu, around 40 citizens gathered for a reading session of "Human Acts" under the theme "Dong-gu, Gwangju: Meeting the Boys of May 1980," where they shared stories about the May 18 Gwangju Uprising. After a video interview with Han Kang was shown, singer Lee Hyunmi, who performs under the name "Kkotnimi," took the stage to perform songs written and composed by Han Kang, as well as music related to May 18.

Later that night, from 8 p.m. until 1 a.m. the next morning, an event titled "A Letter from Gwangju" will be held at the Citizens' Hall of Gwangju City Hall. According to the city, a special lecture on "The World of Han Kang's Works" will be held as a pre-event.

Additionally, a congratulatory message from "Dongho," the protagonist of "Human Acts," restored using AI, will be presented. "Dongho" was modeled after the late Moon Jae-hak, who was a first-year student at Gwangju Commercial High School and participated in the May 18 Democratic Uprising in 1980. Moon was killed by martial law troops during a crackdown at dawn on May 27, 1980, while tending to the wounded and assisting bereaved families at the former South Jeolla Provincial Office, the final site of resistance during the May 18 Uprising.

Meanwhile, Han Kang will receive the Nobel Prize in Literature shortly after midnight on December 11. The awards will be presented in the following order: Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Economics.