Gwangju, South Korea, 1980. In the wake of a viciously suppressed student uprising, a boy searches for his friend's corpse, a consciousness searches for its abandoned body, and a brutalised country searches for a voice. In a sequence of interconnected chapters the victims and the bereaved encounter censorship, denial, forgiveness and the echoing agony of the original trauma.Human Acts is a universal book, utterly modern and profoundly timeless. Already a controversial bestseller and award-winning book in Korea, it confirms Han Kang as a writer of immense importance.
Han Kang
Han Kang (born November 27, 1970) is a celebrated South Korean author known for her evocative and thought-provoking novels. She grew up in Gwangju before moving to Seoul, where she studied Korean literature at Yonsei University. Han debuted as a writer in the 1990s and gained international recognition for her novel The Vegetarian, which won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize. Her works often explore themes of human suffering, identity, and the impact of historical trauma, as seen in Human Acts and other acclaimed novels. In addition to her literary achievements, Han is also a poet and teacher, sharing her craft with aspiring writers. Her works have been translated into multiple languages, resonating with readers around the globe.
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