The first Korean novel to receive the National Book Critics Association Award

The English version of author Han Kang's full-length novel 'No Goodbye' won the National Book Critics Circle Award (NBCC Awards) in the novel category. This is the first time that a Korean author's work has received this award in the novel category.

The National Book Critics Association selected 'We Do Not Part', co-written by Yewon Lee and Paige Morris, as the winner of the 2025 novel category at the awards ceremony held in New York, USA on the 26th (local time). Author Han Kang was unable to attend the awards ceremony in person, so Hogarth Publishing accepted the award on his behalf.

Poetically portraying the trauma of Jeju April 3

NBCC said the reason for selecting the award was, "It delicately depicts the trauma left behind by the aftermath of the Jeju April 3 Incident," and "It is an in-depth look at creation and truth amidst loss." He added, "This artistic novel creates a strange atmosphere and leaves a long lingering impression like an overwhelming dream."

‘No Goodbye’ is a work that unfolds the tragedy and human suffering of the Jeju April 3 Incident in poetic language through the perspectives of three women. At the time of publication in Korea, author Han Kang explained the meaning of the title as "a determination not to say goodbye, a determination not to end anything, whether it be love or mourning, and to walk forward embracing it until the end."

In his acceptance speech read by the publisher's editor-in-chief, author Han Kang said, "I would like to thank the two translators, Yewon Lee and Paige Morris, who made an amazing connection from Korean to English for this book." He continued, “I want to believe that there is still a flickering light within us, and I hope to hold on to that light and move forward.”

The progress of Han River literature on the world stage

This award is another achievement that demonstrates the globalization of Korean literature. This is the second NBCC award for a Korean author, after poet Kim Hye-sun's 'Wing Phantom Pain' won the poetry category in 2023.

Since its domestic publication in 2021, 'No Goodbye' has been translated and published in several countries, including China, France, the Netherlands, and Japan, and has received international attention. It won the French Emile Guimet Asian Literature Award (2024) and the Japanese Yomiuri Literary Award in the research and translation category (2025), and in January last year, the English version was published by Penguin Random House's imprint Hogarth to reach English-speaking readers.

The works that were finalists in the novel category along with 'No Goodbye' at this awards ceremony included Karen Russell's 'Antidote', Katie Kitamura's 'Audition', Solvay Ballet's 'On Calculating Volume 3', and Angela Flournoy's 'Wildlands'.

The National Book Critics Association is a non-profit organization founded in New York in 1974 by book critics working in the American media and publishing industry. Since 1975, it has selected and awarded the best books published in English in the United States every year in categories such as poetry, novels, nonfiction, biographies, and translations.