Stockholm, October 10:
Thanks to "her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life," South Korean writer Han Kang has won the Nobel Prize in literature for 2024. So far, 18 women have been honored with the literature prize, thanks to this honor.
Following three days of announcements honoring works in medicine, physics, and chemistry, the Nobel Committee revealed the Literature Prize at the Swedish Academy on Thursday. Every piece of Han Kang's art reveals the precariousness of human existence as she tackles historical tragedies and unseen sets of norms. In her poetic and experimental style, she has become an innovator in contemporary language, with a unique knowledge of the ties between the living and the dead, as well as the body and the soul, according to the Academy.
The novel "The Vegetarian" (2015) was Han Kang's big break on the international stage. He was born in 1970. The novel depicts the harsh repercussions that follow protagonist Yeong-hye's defiance of dietary rules in its three chapters. There are a wide range of responses to her choice not to eat meat.
Author Jon Fosse of Norway won the Literature Nobel Prize last year for his works published in Nynorsk, one of Norway's two official written languages, which the prize committee deemed as giving "voice to the unsayable." Since 1901, 116 people have been honored with the Nobel Prize in Literature. On four instances, the honor has been split between two people, which is unusual compared to other fields where it has never gone to the same person twice.
Alice Munro (2013), Herta Müller (2009), Doris Lessing (2007), Elfriede Jelinek (2004), Annie Ernaux (2022), Louise Glück (2020), Olga Tokarczuk (2018), Svetlana Alexievich (2015), and Herta Müller are among the previous women to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Sigrid Undset (1928), Grazia Deledda (1926), Toni Morrison (1993), Nadine Gordimer (1991), Nelly Sachs (1966), Gabriela Mistral (1945), Pearl Buck (1938), Selima Lagerlöf (1909)
With the general prerequisite for all prizes in mind—that the candidate should have given "the greatest benefit on mankind"—and the unique condition for literature in mind, "in an ideal direction"—the Swedish Academy had their criteria for distributing the Literature Prize. Alfred Nobel had a wide range of interests in culture. He cultivated a lifelong passion for literature in his formative years. He had an extensive collection of books written in several languages in his library. He began writing fiction in his latter years as an attempt at a career in literature. In his will, Nobel named literature as the fourth area for which he would bestow a prize.
So far, the literature prize has been bestowed upon no less than seven female recipients. Annie Ernaux of France was the last woman to win in 2022. The American duo of Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun took home the Nobel Prize in medicine on October 7, the first day of the announcements.
The Nobel Prizes in Physics went to John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton on Tuesday, while the Nobel Prizes in Chemistry went to three researchers who developed effective methods for deciphering and even designing new proteins. Both the Nobel Peace Prize and the Nobel Prize in Economics will be announced tomorrow and presented on October 14, respectively.
Alfred Nobel, a Swedish inventor, bequeathed 11 million Swedish crowns (about $1.1 million) as the Nobel Prize in Physics to Sweden. Ceremonies honoring the winners will take place on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death. He left a detailed bequest to the organizations he wanted to receive his rewards in his final will and testament. Although the Nobel Prize in Literature is bestowed by the Swedish Academy, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is bestowed by the Karolinska Institutet, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences bestows the Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry.
The five-person committee chosen by the Norwegian Parliament (Storting) is responsible for awarding the Nobel Peace Prize. Even though the Nobel Prizes were instituted in 1901, it wasn't until 1969 that the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences—now known as the Nobel Prize in Economics—was bestowed.
Presentation of the Nobel Prizes has been a part of Nobel Week since 1901. On December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death, the awards are delivered at ceremonies held at the Stockholm Concert Hall in Sweden and the Oslo City Hall in Norway. Stockholm, Sweden is the site of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, whereas Oslo, Norway is the site of the Nobel Prizes in chemistry, physiology, medicine, and literature.
Throughout the years 1901–2023, a total of 621 individuals and organizations were bestowed with the Nobel Prizes and the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. A gold medal is to be handed to each laureate in accordance with the statutes of the Nobel Foundation. The Nobel Prize medals include an image of Alfred Nobel on the front. The institution that bestows the prize determines the image that appears on the reverse.
The organizations that bestow the Nobel Peace Prize decide on the design of each certificate, making each one a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Written on parchment, a type of specially treated leather, the literature diploma follows a process similar to that of mediaeval book artists. On specifically ordered handmade paper are the diplomas that the other recipients get.
The week culminates in Stockholm with the Nobel Prize ceremony and luncheon, where the recipients are presented with their medals and certificates. Nobel laureates dine with the Swedish royal family as honored guests at a banquet. The meal is themed and served differently each year.
