Han Kang's We Do Not Part wins NBCC fiction prize for 1948 Jeju Uprising tale
Han Kang's novel We Do Not Part has won the fiction prize at this year's National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) Awards. The book, originally published in Korean in 2021, explores the brutal Jeju April Uprising of 1948 through fragmented, poetic storytelling. David Ebershoff collected the award on her behalf and shared a message from the author during the ceremony. The novel centres on the 1948 Jeju Uprising, when leftist rebels clashed with U.S.-backed right-wing forces on South Korea's Jeju Island. The violence left up to 30,000 civilians dead amid the political chaos following World War II and the lead-up to the Korean War. We Do Not Part presents these events through a lyrical, broken narrative, focusing on trauma and human suffering. Critics have praised the English translation by E. Yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris for preserving Han Kang's distinctive style.
The book was shortlisted as one of five finalists in the NBCC fiction category in January before securing the win. In 2023, it also received France's Prix Médicis, further cementing its international acclaim. Han Kang, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2024, thanked her translators in her acceptance message, acknowledging their role in bringing the story to English readers.
Other winners at the NBCC Awards included Kevin Young for poetry, Karen Hao for nonfiction, Alex Green for biography, Arundhati Roy for autobiography, and Quinn Slobodian for criticism. Founded in 1974, the NBCC honours the best books written in English each year. Han Kang is now the second Korean writer to receive an NBCC award. We Do Not Part has earned recognition across multiple literary awards, including the NBCC and Prix Médicis. The novel's English translation continues to reach new audiences, highlighting a dark chapter of Korean history through Han Kang's powerful prose. Her win follows her 2024 Nobel Prize, marking another milestone in her distinguished career.
