Han Kang, left, speaks during a Korean Cultural Center event at at the Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona in Spain, Tuesday. Courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Han Kang, the first Asian woman and Korean to win the Nobel Prize in literature, appeared at the Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona Tuesday in her first official public event since winning the prestigeous award in 2024. The event was hosted by the Korean Cultural Center in Spain to mark the Spanish-language publication of her 2010 novel, "Ink and Blood."
All 600 in-person tickets sold out within a minute after going on sale. An additional 200 online streaming tickets were exhausted within 10 minutes, reflecting strong anticipation among local readers.
Han appeared in conversation with Mar Garcia Puig, a Spanish author who has won several of Spain's leading literary prizes, discussing themes of empathy, collective trauma, mourning, silence and friendship.
The two writers explored the role literature can play in resisting forgetting and tending to collective wounds.
"Ink and Blood," published in Spanish in March 2026, is Han's eighth book to appear in that language. The novel follows Jeong-hui, who fights to prove that her friend In-ju's death was not a suicide.
It has been described by local readers and reviewers as a Han Kang-style thriller and ranked among the most anticipated Korean works in the first half of 2026 in Spain.
Han's Nobel Prize has significantly raised the profile of Korean literature in Spain. Interest that had previously centered on a handful of writers known for psychological depth has since broadened to Korean literature as a whole, with translations spanning science fiction, fantasy and other genres now in circulation.
Shin Jae-kwang, director of the Korean Cultural Center in Spain, said it is significant that Han's first public event following her Nobel Prize win took place in Spain, which he described as evidence of strong local interest in Korean literature.
"We will work actively to ensure that this interest continues to grow and translates into substantive cultural exchange," he said.
Source: Korea Times News
