The South Korean author, best known for “The Vegetarian,” is the first writer from her country to receive the prestigious award.

A slow-burning international literary star who has won multiple awards in South Korea and Europe, Han is the first Asian woman and the first South Korean writer to win the Nobel literature prize. She was awarded for books, including “The Vegetarian” and “Human Acts,” that explore the pain of being human and the scars of Korea’s turbulent history.

After years of messiness, the Nobel Prize in literature, which was awarded to Korean novelist Han Kang on Thursday, is better than ever. The same can’t be said for the wider publishing world.