“Regardless of Han Kang’s deserving of the Nobel Prize in Literature for her great writings, unique narrative structure, and delicate poetic language despite her relatively young age compared to the usual winners of the Nobel in Literature (she is the third youngest recipient), any in-depth reader of her work knows that her literary project is fully formed. The themes she explores are consistent: violence, identity, the documentation of personal narratives, and her advocacy for them against the official archives or the collective history of bloody events in South Korea’s past (only the form of violence and the structure of the narrative change). And despite varying opinions on her writings, as with any author based on each reader’s taste, it’s important to view her Nobel Prize in a broader context.

Her winning the Nobel is also a victory for South Korean culture, language, and literature, as well as for small publishing houses, and a recognition of the translators of Korean literature into various languages.”

• Mohamed Nagib Egyptian writer and translator

Therefore, we invite you to join us for an open discussion about the author Han Kang, the Nobel Laureate in Literature for 2024. Mohamed Nagib, the writer and translator, will share his insights and thoughts, as he is deeply knowledgeable about Korean and Asian literature, particularly Han Kang’s work, for which he has translated several of her books. The discussion will be moderated by the author Nora Naji.

• About Mohamed Nagib: Mohamed Nagib is an Egyptian writer and translator, born in Mansoura in 1992. He is interested in Korean and Asian literature. His translations from Korean and English include novels, short stories, memoirs, and diaries. Some of his important translations from Korean include: “The White Book,” “Human Acts,” and “Greek Lessons” by Han Kang, the Nobel Laureate of Literature in 2024. “Please Look After Mom,” “I’ll Be There,” and “The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness” by Kyung-Sook Shin. “The Conspirators” by Kim Eun-Soo. “The Cursed Rabbit” by Bora Chang. “I’m Waiting For You” by Kim Bo-Young.

From English, he has translated: “Dune Messiah” and “Children of Dune” by Frank Herbert. “Brain on Fire” by Susannah Cahalan. “Our Lost Hearts” by Celeste Ng. “Second Place” by Rachel Cusk. “Nothing to Envy” by Barbara Demick. “The House of Doors” by Tan Twan Eng.

• About Nora Naji: Nora Naji is an Egyptian journalist and novelist, born in Tanta in 1987. She graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Interior Design, in 2008, and currently serves as the Managing Editor of the women’s website “Nawaem.” She writes for the “Platform for Cultural Independence” website and the “Fannoun” magazine. Naji worked as an editor for the Women’s Section at “Al-Youm Al-Gadeed” newspaper, in addition to contributing to various Arab websites.

Her published novels include: “Bana” (2014, Dar Leila), “The Wall” (2016, Dar Al-Rawak), “The Pasha’s Daughters” (2017, Dar Ajeel), which was shortlisted for the Sawiris Prize for Young Writers in 2018. “The Specter of Camelia” (2020, Dar Shorouk), which was shortlisted for the Sawiris Prize 2020 and won the Yehia Haqi Prize in 2020. She also published “Women Writers and Loneliness” (2020, Dar Shorouk) and the short story collection “Like Naive Films” (2021, Dar Shorouk), which won the State Encouragement Award in 2023. Her latest novel is “Years of Running in Place” (2023, Dar Shorouk).

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