Ch’aesikchuŭija Korean 2022

Winner of the 2016 International Booker Prize, this novel by Han Kang significantly broadened the global presence of Korean literature. With meticulous structure and a compelling prose style, it presents a powerful fusion of wounded spirituality and vegetal imagination, culminating in a haunting aesthetic beauty uniquely realized in Han Kang’s own voice.

At the center of the story is Yeong-hye, a woman who one day begins to refuse meat and subsequently finds herself in escalating conflict with her family. Yet the narrative is told through the perspectives of three figures surrounding her—her husband, her brother-in-law, and her sister—and Yeong-hye herself is never granted the position of a fully autonomous narrator. The novel exposes the violence of patriarchy enacted in the name of family, and follows Yeong-hye’s resistance through fasting, as she attempts to shed her animal nature and transform into a tree. The profound realm of vegetal imagination she embodies resonates across generations, creating a powerful and enduring echo for readers.

This work is internationally known as The Vegetarian.