Order of Han Kang Books

Han Kang is a Korean author. She has written the novels The Vegetarian and Human Acts, among others. She graduated from Yonsei University, with a degree in Korean language and literature. Han has won numerous awards, including (but not limited to) the prestigious International Booker Prize, Yi Sang Literary Award, Prix Médicis étranger, and the Nobel Prize in Literature. Han comes from a writing family – her father and two brothers are also novelists.

Han Kang made her debut as a novelist in 1999, and was first published in English in 2015 with The Vegetarian (published in Korean in 2007). Below is a list of Han Kang’s books in order of when they were originally released:

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

If You Like Han Kang Books, You’ll Love…

• Haruki Murakami
• Annie Ernaux
• Juhea Kim

Han Kang Synopses: We Do Not Part by Han Kang is a standalone novel, and the winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature. One winter morning, Kyungha receives an urgent message from her friend Inseon, asking her to visit a hospital in Seoul. Inseon has been injured in an accident and pleads with Kyungha to return to Jeju Island to save her beloved pet—a white bird named Ama.

When Kyungha arrives, a snowstorm blankets the island, making the journey to Inseon’s house treacherous. As night falls, the icy wind and swirling snow slow her progress, and she begins to wonder if she will reach Ama in time—or even survive the brutal cold. Lost in a world of snow, she has no idea of the darkness that awaits her at her friend’s home.

Blurring the line between dream and reality, We Do Not Part sheds light on a long-buried chapter of Korean history, uncovering forgotten voices and saving them from oblivion. A powerful story of enduring friendship and remembrance, it explores love in the face of unspeakable violence and celebrates life, no matter how fragile it may be.

Human Acts by Han Kang is a standalone novel. Amid a violent student uprising in South Korea, a young boy named Dong-ho is shockingly killed.

The story of this tragic event unfolds through a series of interconnected chapters, as victims and the bereaved face suppression, denial, and the lingering agony of the massacre. From Dong-ho’s best friend, who meets his own fateful end; to an editor battling censorship; to a prisoner and a factory worker, each haunted by traumatic memories; to Dong-ho’s grief-stricken mother—their collective heartbreak and resilience weave a powerful tale of a brutalized people searching for a voice.

An award-winning and controversial bestseller, Human Acts is a timeless, pointillist portrait of a historic event whose reverberations are still felt today. It traces, in turn, the harsh reality of oppression and the resounding, extraordinary poetry of humanity.

Greek Lessons is a standalone novel by Han Kang. In a classroom in Seoul, a young woman watches as her Greek language teacher writes on the blackboard. She tries to speak but has lost her voice. Meanwhile, her teacher finds himself drawn to her, for day by day, he is losing his sight.

Soon, they realize a deeper pain binds them together. For her, the past few months have been marked by devastating loss—first her mother, then the custody battle for her nine-year-old son. For him, it’s the struggle of growing up between Korea and Germany, being torn between two cultures and languages, and the fear of losing his independence.

Greek Lessons tells the story of two ordinary people brought together in a moment of profound sorrow—the fading light of a man losing his vision meeting the silence of a woman who has lost her language. Yet it is precisely these absences that draw them to one another. Slowly, they find a sense of unity—their voices intertwining with unexpected beauty as they move from darkness to light, from silence to breath and expression.

A tender exploration of human connection, Greek Lessons is a love letter to intimacy and understanding—an evocative novel that awakens the senses and captures the essence of what it means to be truly alive.