South Korean author Han Kang was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature Thursday. The following is a chronology of major events in her life.In this file photo, author Han Kang answers reporters' questions during a press conference on the publication of her new novel, "The White Book," in May 2016. (Yonhap)In this file photo, author Han Kang answers reporters' questions during a press conference on the publication of her new novel, "The White Book," in May 2016. (Yonhap)-- Nov. 27, 1970: Born to novelist Han Seung-won in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province-- 1988: Graduates from Poongmoon Girls' High School-- 1989: Enrolls in the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Yonsei University-- 1993: Graduates from the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Yonsei UniversityDebuts with five poems, including "Winter in Seoul," featured in the quarterly "Literature and Society"-- 1994: Debuts as a novelist after her short story "Red Anchor" wins a literary contest hosted by the Seoul Shinmun daily-- 1995: Publishes collection of novellas "Love in Yeosu"-- 1998: Publishes full-length novel "Black Deer"-- 1999: Publishes novella "Baby Buddha"Wins the 25th Korean Novel Award-- 2000: Publishes collection of novellas "My Woman's Fruits"Wins Today's Young Artist Award from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism-- 2002: Publishes novella "My Name is Sun Flower" and full-length novel "Your Cold Hands"-- 2003: Publishes essay collection "Love and Things Surrounding Love" and novella "The Red Flower Story"-- 2005: Wins the Yi Sang Literary Award Grand Prize-- 2007: Publishes essay collection "A Song to Sing Calmly," short story "Thunder Little Fairy, Lightning Little Fairy" and novel "The Vegetarian"Appointed professor of creative writing at Seoul Institute of the Arts-- 2008: Publishes short story "Tear Box"-- 2010: Publishes novel "The Wind Blows, Go"-- 2011: Publishes novel "Greek Lessons"-- 2012: Publishes collection of novellas "Yellow Pattern Eternity"-- 2013: Publishes p oetry collection "I Put Dinner in the Drawer"-- 2014: Publishes novel "Human Acts"-- 2015: Wins Hwang Sun-won Literary Award-- 2016: Publishes novel "The White Book"Wins the Man Booker International Prize for "The Vegetarian"-- 2017: Wins the Malaparte Prize of Italy-- 2018: Wins the Kim Yu-jeong Literary AwardWins the San Clemente Literary Prize of SpainRetires as professor of creative writing at Seoul Institute of the Arts-- 2019: Publishes novel "We Do Not Part"-- 2023: Wins the Prix Medicis Etranger of France-- 2024: Wins the Ho-Am Prize in the ArtsWins the Nobel Prize in literatureSource: Yonhap News Agency
- May 13, 2026
