‘Literature class with Han Kang’s writing for 10 years,’ says Oxford professor

Ankhi Mukherjee (pictured), a professor of English literature at Oxford University, shared her admiration for Han Kang’s works in a written interview on Tuesday. She expressed that Han’s writings, which won the Nobel Prize in Literature, deserve global recognition and widespread praise, highlighting the author’s incredible talent.

Mukherjee, who has been teaching Han Kang’s "The Vegetarian" and other works to her students for a decade, was thrilled when Han won the Nobel Prize on October 10th and eagerly shared the news on X (formerly Twitter). International media outlets, including The New York Times, interviewed Mukherjee, recognizing her longstanding dedication to Han’s literature. “Han Kang’s writings explore the politics of the body, gender, and resistance to the state, while maintaining a profound literary imagination,” she remarked to the NYT.

Mukherjee first encountered "The Vegetarian" in 2015, shortly after becoming a professor at Oxford, through Deborah Smith’s English translation. She quickly saw the novel's literary value and incorporated it into her master’s-level course, “Humanitarian Novel,” which explores the intersection of human rights, humanitarianism, and literature. Although her students were initially unfamiliar with Asian literature, by the end of the semester, many found "The Vegetarian" to be the most engaging text in the course.

With Han Kang now a Nobel laureate, Mukherjee hopes to introduce her works even more broadly and looks forward to seeing more of Han’s literature translated and shared with readers around the world.


김기윤 기자 pep@donga.com