South Korean writer Han Kang was invited to Porto Book Fair to talk about her writing

Han Kang's three-part drama novella, themed "The Vegetarian" was awarded the prestigious Man Booker International Prize. Internationally, this meant almost overnight success and led to international critical acclaim.

The Vegetarian is Han's second book to be translated into English. British translator Deborah Smith was in charge of the book's translation and it was published in January 2015 in the UK and February 2016 in the US.

The Vegetarian's plot takes place in Seoul. It is the life story of Yeong-hye, a home-maker, who decides to stop eating meat after a nightmare about human cruelty. This decision leads to traumatic consequences in her entire family life.

The book was first published on 30 October 2007 in South Korea by Changbi Publishers, and it was considered "very extreme and bizarre" by the Korean readers.

Han Kang is the daughter and the sister of writers and debuted her career as an author by writing poetry at the age of 23. 

The writer shared some details about her writing process with the audience, by saying that "when I write I don't think about the readers; my only thought is finishing the book."