Nobel winner Han Kang speaks up about South Korea's unexpected martial law drama
South-Korean writer **Han Kang** got Nobel Prize and faced sudden political crisis at home. Her response to martial law comes from personal experience with similar events from her childhood in Gwangju
In a pre-ceremony press-conference in Stockholm Han Kang‚ South-Koreas first Nobel Literature Prize winner shares her thoughts about recent events back home. The author (who will get 11 million Swedish crowns prize next week) talks about sudden martial law declaration that happened on Dec 3rd
No matter what happens in the future‚ the truth will continue to be told
Her win was announced in Oct 24 and Swedish Academy praised her work for its way to show historical traumas. The writer spent her early years in Gwangju — a place where govt forces killed protesters about 40 years ago‚ which became main topic of her book “Human Acts“
The recent political crisis started when president Yoon Suk Yeol made a shocking move to declare martial law (first time since 79) but had to cancel it just hours later due to parliament-army stand-off. This brought back memories for many citizens who lived through pre-democratic times
People in Seoul went to streets because they dont want to see return of:
- Military control
- Dictator-style ruling
- Limited free speech
- Govt force against citizens
Han Kang says she spent lot of time studying 1979s events while writing her book‚ and seeing similar situation now was very startling
