Stockholm, 10 October 2024 (dpa/MIA) - South Korean author Han Kang is the 2024 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Swedish Academy announced on Thursday.

The academy praised her "intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life."

The 53-year-old was born Gwangju, South Korea, and lives in Seoul.

She won the prestigious Man Booker International Prize in 2016 for her novel "The Vegetarian," about a woman who decides to stop eating meat and the personal ramifications this has on her life.

The Nobel Prize in Literature is worth 11 million Swedish krona ($1.06 million).

Last year's winner of one of literature's highest honours was Norwegian novelist and playwright Jon Fosse. In 2022, the French author Annie Ernaux won for her body of largely autobiographical work.

Photo: MIA archive