Author Han Kang Says 'Music Sometimes Inspires Novels' at Berlin Reading Event

"The editing process requires a lot of energy, so sometimes I listen to music loudly enough that it feels like my ears might fall off. Um... and when I listen to certain music, I occasionally get the thought that I want to write a novel with that exact feeling. In those cases, I repeatedly listen to the same music during the starting stage." This is how author Han Kang responded when asked whether she listens to music while writing or if music tends to distract her.

She stated, "It's hard to say I like a specific genre; I tend to just repeatedly listen to music I like," adding, "Recently, I've gone to several classical concerts and also listened to some experimental music."

The story tied to Kim Kwang-seok's "My Song," which is included in the so-called "Han Kang Playlist," is also featured in her essay collection "Light and Thread," published last year.

Recalling the COVID-19 pandemic era when she was writing "We Do Not Part," Han Kang recited a line from the lyrics of this song on the evening of the 7th (local time) at the Chamber Hall of the Berliner Philharmonie in Berlin, Germany.

"Even if I shake and fall, as long as there is a final drop of water in this world, I will drink and sing." When the host asked if she also likes dancing, she replied that the song gave her so much strength that she "danced while spinning around, imagining myself as figure skater Kim Yuna."


On this day, Han Kang took the stage alongside members of the Berlin Philharmonic at "Satzwechsel," a reading performance organized as part of the Berlin International Literature Festival.

Following the performance of Claude Debussy's "Danse sacrée et danse profane," she shared stories about her usual writing methods, behind-the-scenes tales of winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, and how she acquired a traditional Korean house and tended its garden, topics also found in "Light and Thread."

"Satzwechsel" is a newly coined term combining "Satz" (meaning movement or sentence) and "Wechsel" (meaning change), representing a newly created chamber music program combining music and literature for this season by the Berlin Philharmonic.

German actor Martina Gedeck read from "Light and Thread," which was published in German translation last month, and the 2021 work "We Do Not Part."

Han Kang made the audience laugh by saying, "People have bought me so much chamomile tea that I have enough chamomile tea stacked up at home to drink for over 10 years."

She previously mentioned in an interview with Swedish media after being announced as the winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature, "I celebrated by drinking chamomile tea with my son."

Regarding the perception that she writes about political subjects, she remarked, "I think, can we really separate the political from the personal?" adding, "'The Vegetarian' seems like a very personal novel, but I actually think it is a deeply political novel."

She continued, "Rather than wanting to deal with history from the beginning, I ended up writing 'Human Acts' in the process of delving deep into the inner self," and added, "It wasn't that I thought I would become a writer who deals with history; it just felt like there was no other path for me."


After watching the performance of Debussy right beside them, Han Kang said, "I felt nervous and tense, almost as if I were playing myself," and added, "I tried to wrap the book ('Light and Thread') in a bright light, but I don't think I would have been able to begin with such transparent music if I hadn't published a book like that."

The reading performance concluded with Maurice Ravel's "Ma Mère l'Oye" (Mother Goose Suite).

Audience member Barbara Sternagel said, "Unlike writers who explicitly deal with post-war political themes, it was interesting to learn that Han Kang finds her themes inspired by personal emotions or dreams." She added, "Han Kang sees something in quiet moments that connects people and offers hope for mutual understanding. The music of Debussy and Ravel, often called impressionists, fits this very well."
 
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.