Nobel laureate Han Kang attends the Pony Chung Innovation Award ceremony at Pony Chung Hall in Seoul’s Gangnam district on Oct. 17. (Joint Press Corps)
With the awarding ceremony just one week away, Han Kang, the first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature, is about to embark on a monumental week of events in Stockholm and Oslo.
A series of official events -- including press conferences, lectures and readings -- will take place as part of Nobel Week, running from Friday to Dec. 12. The highlight will be Tuesday's ceremony at the Stockholm Concert Hall, where the Swedish Academy will present medals and diplomas to laureates in five categories.
Many of the events will be streamed online.
Since being announced as the winner in literature on Oct. 10, Han has largely stayed out of the spotlight, with her only public appearance at the Pony Chung Innovation Award Ceremony on Oct. 17. Many eagerly await the message she will share during Nobel Week.
Jon Fosse delivers his Nobel Prize lecture on Dec. 7, 2023 at the Swedish Academy in Stockholm. ( Nobel Prize Outreach)
Han’s first engagement is the official press conference Friday. While the session will not be livestreamed, Han will answer questions from reporters gathered from around the world. Press conferences for Nobel Prize winners across all fields will take place Friday and Saturday, with the literature laureate being the first to meet the press.
The Nobel Prize lecture in literature will take place at 5 p.m. on Saturday, at the Stock Exchange Building, in Stockholm, offering a chance to hear this year’s laureate speak directly.
Delivered in Korean and streamed live on YouTube, Han’s hourlong address is expected to explore her body of work and artistic vision. The lecture will later be archived on the Nobel Prize website, accompanied by transcripts in English and Swedish.
Han will also participate in a reading event at the Royal Dramatic Theatre on Dec. 12 where she will have a conversation with translator and journalist Yukiko Duke.
Ahead of the awards ceremony, Han will donate an artifact to the Nobel Prize Museum on Friday, along with the other laureates. As part of the tradition, they each hand over an item to the museum and sign a chair. These new items will be added to the museum's extensive collection of artifacts from laureates, showcasing their discoveries and life achievements.
The Nobel Prize award ceremony in Stockholm, Dec. 10, 2023 (Nobel Prize Outreach)
The pinnacle of Nobel Week is undoubtedly the Nobel Prize award ceremony on Dec. 10, held on the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.
With the exception of the Peace Prize, which is presented in Oslo, the other awards, including the literature, will be presented at the Stockholm Concert Hall.
During the prize award ceremony, the Nobel Prize laureates receive a diploma and medal from Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf. Speeches are delivered by representatives from the prize-awarding institutions in Swedish, but as a symbolic gesture, the final sentence inviting the winners to the podium is usually given in the winner's native language or in English.
Although the ceremony does not include an acceptance speech from the laureates, Han will have the opportunity to address the audience during the banquet that follows. Her remarks will later be published on the Nobel Prize website.
Nobel Week Lights (Benoit Derrier/Nobel Prize Outreach)
Beyond the official events, Stockholm will also celebrate the laureates' achievements with a series of cultural tributes.
Among them is Nobel Week Lights, a citywide installation celebrating laureates through artistic displays from Saturday to Dec. 15, from 4 p.m.-10 p.m. This year, in particular, the artwork at City Hall, titled "Leading Lights," pays tribute to the achievements and discoveries of female Nobel Prize laureates, featuring an image of Han.
Additionally, the lights will set the stage for Literature Night on Sunday, an evening event featuring recitals of texts that celebrate the works of female Nobel laureates in literature, showcased as part of the De Aderton artwork in the Nobel Week Lights installation.
Passages from authors including Han, Grazia Deledda, Annie Ernaux and Olga Tokarczuk will be read in both Swedish and their original languages.
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