Korean novelist Han Kang poses during a news conference in Seoul, May 24, 2016. The Swedish Academy announced Thursday (local time) that Han won the Nobel Prize in literature. AP-Yonhap

Korean novelist Han Kang has become the first Korean to win the Nobel Prize in literature.

The Swedish Academy announced, Thursday, that Han, 53, was the winner of the prestigious prize.

She is the second Korean Nobel laureate, following former President Kim Dae-jung, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his efforts to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula. Additionally, she is the first Asian woman to receive the Nobel Prize in literature.

Selecting the writer of the 2016 International Booker Prize-winning novel "The Vegetarian," the academy said in a press release, "The Nobel Prize in literature for 2024 is awarded to South Korean author Han Kang for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life."

"In her oeuvre, Han Kang confronts historical traumas and invisible sets of rules and, in each of her works, exposes the fragility of human life," the academy added.

"She has a unique awareness of the connections between body and soul, the living and the dead, and in her poetic and experimental style has become an innovator in contemporary prose," Anders Olsson, chairman of the academy's Nobel Committee, said in a statement.

The winner of the Nobel Prize will receive 11 million krona (around $1 million), along with medals and certificates.

The Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded 117 times to 121 individuals since 1901. Han is the first Korean to receive the prize and the 18th female writer to be honored with this award.

Since 2012, the Nobel Prize in literature has alternated between male and female recipients almost without exception. With Han's win, this tradition continues, following last year's winner, Jon Fosse of Norway. This also marks the first time an Asian writer has received the prize since Chinese author Mo Yan in 2012.

Han has already established herself firmly in the global literary scene, having secured the Booker Prize and becoming the first Korean author to achieve this honor. The Booker Prize is considered one of the world's top three literary awards, alongside the Nobel Prize and the Prix Goncourt.

Books by Korean novelist Han Kang are displayed in the Swedish Academy after she was named the 2024 laureate of the Nobel Prize in literature in Stockholm, Sweden, Thursday (local time). Reuters-Yonhap

The prize-giving body noted that Han made her international presence known through "The Vegetarian."

"Han Kang's major international breakthrough came with the novel 'The Vegetarian,'" the academy said.

Her other notable work, "Human Acts," published in 2014, addresses the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern Korean city of Gwangju, where she was born.

The Swedish Academy noted that in "Human Acts," she confronted brutal realities by narrating the stories of the victims based on historical facts.

"In the novel 'Human Acts,' Han Kang this time employs as her political foundation a historical event that took place in the city of Gwangju, where she herself grew up and where hundreds of students and unarmed civilians were murdered during a massacre carried out by the South Korean military in 1980," the academy said.

"In seeking to give voice to the victims of history, the book confronts this episode with brutal actualization and, in so doing, approaches the genre of witness literature."

Kim Ho-woon, president of the Korean Writers' Association, said Han's receipt of the Nobel Prize is the culmination of her efforts to create works for a global audience.

"Novelist Han Kang receiving the Nobel Prize in literature is not only a personal honor but also a significant achievement for our nation. I hope it will serve as an opportunity for the world to recognize the stature of our literature. This award demonstrates that Korean culture and literature have attained a global level," Kim told The Korea Times.

"Han's literary uniqueness lies in her ability to create works that resonate with global readers. She has received this award for writing with a focus on global humanity. I hope this serves as an opportunity for many Korean writers to produce literary works that appeal not only to Korean readers but also to a wider international audience," he added.

The prize awarding ceremony will be held in Stockholm, Sweden, on Dec. 10.