Hangang: "Citizens Resisting Martial Law Knew It Would Not Be Repeated"

Han Kang Shares Insights in New York Times Interview
"We Do Not Part" to Be Published in the U.S. This Week

Author Han Kang shared her thoughts on the recent martial law situation in South Korea during an interview with the American daily The New York Times (NYT) on the 21st (local time).

Han Kang, the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate, is holding a press conference at a publishing company in Stockholm, Sweden, on December 11 last year (local time). Photo by Yonhap News

Han Kang began by saying that she anxiously watched the process from President Yoon Suk-yeol's declaration of martial law on December 3rd last year until its lifting, as well as the citizens' resistance. She then recalled the martial law during the past military dictatorship era, stating, "Whether they directly experienced the memories of 1979-1980 or not, the citizens knew that it must not be repeated, which is why they took to the streets in the middle of the night."

This interview was conducted ahead of the release of her novel We Do Not Part in the United States this week. Originally published in South Korea in 2021, We Do Not Part is one of Han Kang's representative works that depicts the tragedy of the Jeju 4.3 Incident through the perspectives of three women. The English edition is published by Hogarth, an imprint of Random House in the U.S.

Cover of the English edition of the novel "I Do Not Say Goodbye" by author Hangang.

The NYT analyzed that Han Kang's work deals with South Korea's authoritarian past and noted, "The connection between the work and reality seems to have grown stronger since the president briefly declared martial law in December." Han Kang said she has been reflecting deeply on the recent events and that it was not intentional for her to consecutively address tragic scenes from modern Korean history in her works.

Han Kang expressed that by deeply confronting South Korea's painful moments and writing about them, she felt a profound connection with the victims who experienced brutal acts occurring in various places, as well as with those who remember and refuse to forget them. She said, "It is pain, and it is blood. But connecting the parts that die and remain with the living parts is the flow of life." She added, "It is about linking dead memories with the living present so that nothing truly dies," and explained, "I thought of it as a story not only about Korean history but about all humanity."

Han Kang also shared an update on her life after winning the Nobel Prize, saying she is trying to regain a quiet daily routine. She said, "The best environment for a writer is to move freely, observe how people live, and write freely without burden under a certain degree of anonymity."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.