Which Han Kang Book You Should Start With

[@warmlavender5525]

Thank you for this!! I saw she won and my interest was peaked based on people’s responses to her work. And then your video popped up lol. The Gwangju uprising is an event that devastated me when I learned about it. It touched my heart esp. bc of how strikingly similar it was to student uprisings that my family participated in Ethiopia when a military coup took over. It also led to a massacre of young ppl, many who were close friends of my family and they narrowly escaped alive. I think I’ll start with Human Acts as per your recommendation. I also am deeply partial to poetic prose. Congrats to South Korea & Han Kang! I’ve been really impressed with the impactful work that has been coming out of the Korean literature scene! Hope that much more is translated!

[@jinwoopark0721]

The historical significance definitely adds to why Human Acts, in my opinion, is the better starting point for Han Kang. I hope you like the book!

[@wasimakhunzada2009]

Thanks for your valuable guidance I am reading Human Acts and this is my first introduction to Han Kang

[@Canduish]

glad I am seeing this after i started Greek Lessons and thinking why is this so damn hard? :))))

[@chickiecurlz]

Hello! My first encounter with Han Kang is through her book Greek Lessons followed by the White Book. Stumbled upon your channel while looking into which to read first, The Vegetarian or Human Acts. Your insights are very helpful. Thanks for the recommendation. 😊

[@dinyahome]

OOT: could you tell me where do you get your book shelves from? Thanks for the overview of Han Kang‘s books👍

[@HMarie.99]

Ah, I’m so pleased with her Nobel Prize win and the nod to Human Acts, because it’s my favorite book of all time. Do you have any more Korean historical fiction (preferably set in 20th century) recommendations for people who loved the novel?

[@jinwoopark0721]

I'd definitely recommend Mater 2-10 by Hwang Sok-yong! And definitely check out Han Kang's newest book, We Do Not Part, when it comes out in January 2025 in English.

[@HMarie.99]

@@jinwoopark0721 I’ve been desperately waiting for We Do Not Part to come out since I’m already through all her other English and German translations, so I’ll definitely take the other recommendation to pass the time until the release! Thank you😊

[@SevenSeasDrama]

Thank you. I probably start with "The Vegetarian", because it is already sitting on my shelf. If you have read all her works in Korean, could you give a very brief, non-spoiler, overview please? I am a big fan of poetry, but transalting poetry is near impossible. The translator has to be a poet themselves for a good one. I used to do freelance translation from English to my native language. News articles take about 1-2 hours on average. But, I once translated a 4 pages literary article. It took me about 2 months! So, well done for mentioning translators. It is really hard job when the languages are not similar or from the same family.

[@jinwoopark0721]

The Vegetarian is an excellent start! Definitely am going to soon make a video that will give a full overview of her currently translated works, including We Do Not Part.

[@zozobop]

Han Kang recommendations and a little cat cameo!

[@Pablo-h8b]

I have started with vegetarian right now

[@SsMm-s8x]

대학교 수업에서 이 영상으로 진도나가고 있어요 ㅎㅋㅋㅋ 좋은 리뷰 감사합니다!

[@sudhirchandra9790]

As an Indian what do you suggest me 20 years man doing graduation in medical sciences I want to start with one han kang book

[@jinwoopark0721]

Love that you're interested in getting into Han Kang! I still think Human Acts could be a good start for you. It'd be a good introduction to modern Korean history as well. Then after that move onto The Vegetarian.

[@sudhirchandra9790]

@@jinwoopark0721 thanks dear sir

[@wearelivinginavirusworld532]

[@stijn4771]

What a nice video. I'm definitely going to check her out. Btw subscribed to your channel, super interesting videos!