Why Han Kang refused to celebrate her personal accomplishment: Nobel Prize in literature

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*

South Korean Nobel laureate Han Kang has declined to celebrate and refused to address a press conference after winning the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature, citing the deaths, destitution, pain, and suffering of people affected by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. As reported by the Korea Times, Han Kang’s father Han Seung a renowned Korean writer conveyed her daughter’s message that “with the war intensifying and people being carried out dead every day, how can we have a celebration or a press conference?” She said that “she won’t hold a press conference”.

Her father has further added that he was planning for a party, but his daughter did not allow to celebrate her accomplishment. She said that “please don't celebrate while witnessing these tragic events (referring to the two wars). The Swedish Academy didn’t give me this award for us to enjoy, but to stay more clear-headed”.

Her refusal to celebrate personal accomplishments reflects the idealism and conviction of a writer who wishes to emphasise the collective suffering of humanity over individual achievements.

Han Kang received the Nobel Prize "for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life" in her writings. What are the social, economic, political, religious and cultural conditions breed trauma and make human life fragile?

Imperialist wars, colonial resource conflicts, capitalist exploitation, feudal culture, and the spiritual imprisonment of individuals through religion and its violent fundamentalisms all contribute to trauma in human life, making it fragile.

Additionally, cultural repression, political dominance of majoritarianism, all forms of exploitation and inequalities, the marginalisation of working people, exploitative and dictatorial regimes, and deprivation based on gender, race, caste, class, and sexuality, as well as natural disasters, further aggravate human alienation and fragility.

Individual experiences of trauma are not isolated or singular; rather, they are a collective experience shaped by life under capitalism. It promotes various interpersonal and systemic conditions that breed both human and environmental traumas, making the lives of both humans and animals fragile in the contemporary world under various forms of capitalism.

Therefore, it is the responsibility of all working people including writers, intellectuals, teachers, journalists, lawyers, political activists, and leaders to generate mass consciousness for the struggle against capitalism and its systems, institutions, and processes in order to establish a peaceful and harmonious world free from war, exploitation, and inequality.

Such a global consciousness underscores Han Kang’s refusal to celebrate her personal accomplishments like the Nobel Prize for literature.

A writer is defined not merely by the act of writing, but by the idealism of promoting social, political, economic, and cultural transformation for peaceful coexistence and solidarity.

Han Kang is one such writer, whose idealism and compassion triumph over imperialist war machines. Her idealism offers hope to millions of idealists who face vilification campaigns aimed at undermining their principles. Reactionary elements with loud voices continue to spread rumours against idealists in society, seeking to erode all forms of idealism in order to thrive as social, political, cultural, and economic parasites.

As a public intellectual, Han Kang embodies hope for a new generation of thinkers, writers and idealists

Narcissists and their followers reject all forms of idealism, surviving by exploiting others and tarnishing its value. These unproductive and lumpen elements in society construct false narratives to justify their actions, defame idealism, and perpetuate their own self-serving agendas of everyday survival by lies.

The capitalist system has transformed intellectual activities into mere sources of livelihood within an individualistic culture of self-pleasure where competitive consumerism has undermined the power of the pen, leading intellectuals to become mere typewriters for those in power.

As a public intellectual, Han Kang embodies hope for a new generation of thinkers, writers and idealists who will continue to fight for the people by opposing all forms of exploitation and inequalities that undermine human idealism based on reason, science, and the secular values of human life.

Han Kang’s refusal to celebrate her achievements as a literary and political act helps to revive the role of public intellectuals in standing with the people and rejecting all forms of power.

History is the witness to the triumphs of idealism against all odds in life. Han Kang’s Nobel Prize for literature is a collective celebration of idealism based on global consciousness against all forms of wars, conflicts, exploitations, inequalities and human sufferings.

—

*Scholar based in UK

Comments

Grueling summer ahead: Cuttack’s alarming health trends and what they mean for Odisha

By Sudhansu R Das The preparation to face the summer should begin early in Odisha. People in the state endure long, grueling summer months starting from mid-February and extending until the end of October. This prolonged heat adversely affects productivity, causes deaths and diseases, and impacts agriculture, tourism and the unorganized sector. The social, economic and cultural life of the state remains severely disrupted during the peak heat months.

Stronger India–Russia partnership highlights a missed energy breakthrough

By N.S. Venkataraman* The recent visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India was widely publicized across several countries and has attracted significant global attention. The warmth with which Mr. Putin was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was particularly noted, prompting policy planners worldwide to examine the implications of this cordial relationship for the global economy and political climate. India–Russia relations have stood on a strong foundation for decades and have consistently withstood geopolitical shifts. This is in marked contrast to India’s ties with the United States, which have experienced fluctuations under different U.S. administrations.

From natural farming to fair prices: Young entrepreneurs show a new path

By Bharat Dogra There have been frequent debates on agro-business companies not showing adequate concern for the livelihoods of small farmers. Farmers’ unions have often protested—generally with good reason—that while they do not receive fair returns despite high risks and hard work, corporate interests that merely process the crops produced by farmers earn disproportionately high profits. Hence, there is a growing demand for alternative models of agro-business development that demonstrate genuine commitment to protecting farmer livelihoods.

The Vande Mataram debate and the politics of manufactured controversy

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The recent Vande Mataram debate in Parliament was never meant to foster genuine dialogue. Each political party spoke past the other, addressing its own constituency, ensuring that clips went viral rather than contributing to meaningful deliberation. The objective was clear: to construct a Hindutva narrative ahead of the Bengal elections. Predictably, the Lok Sabha will likely expunge the opposition’s “controversial” remarks while retaining blatant inaccuracies voiced by ministers and ruling-party members. The BJP has mastered the art of inserting distortions into parliamentary records to provide them with a veneer of historical legitimacy.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

The cost of being Indian: How inequality and market logic redefine rights

By Vikas Gupta We, the people of India, are engaged in a daily tryst—read: struggle—for basic human rights. For the seemingly well-to-do, the wish list includes constant water supply, clean air, safe roads, punctual public transportation, and crime-free neighbourhoods. For those further down the ladder, the struggle is starker: food that fills the stomach, water that doesn’t sicken, medicines that don’t kill, houses that don’t flood, habitats at safe distances from polluted streams or garbage piles, and exploitation-free environments in the public institutions they are compelled to navigate.

Why India must urgently strengthen its policies for an ageing population

By Bharat Dogra A quiet but far-reaching demographic transformation is reshaping much of the world. As life expectancy rises and birth rates fall, societies are witnessing a rapid increase in the proportion of older people. This shift has profound implications for public policy, and the need to strengthen frameworks for healthy and secure ageing has never been more urgent. India is among the countries where these pressures will intensify most sharply in the coming decades.

Thota Sitaramaiah: An internal pillar of an underground organisation

By Harsh Thakor* Thota Sitaramaiah was regarded within his circles as an example of the many individuals whose work in various underground movements remained largely unknown to the wider public. While some leaders become visible through organisational roles or media attention, many others contribute quietly, without public recognition. Sitaramaiah was considered one such figure. He passed away on December 8, 2025, at the age of 65.

Proposals for Babri Masjid, Ram Temple spark fears of polarisation before West Bengal polls

By A Representative A political debate has emerged in West Bengal following recent announcements about plans for new religious structures in Murshidabad district, including a proposed mosque to be named Babri Masjid and a separate announcement by a BJP leader regarding the construction of a Ram temple in another location within Behrampur.

Search This Blog