Why Han Kang’s ‘Vegetarian’ Is the Most Loved International Booker Prize Winner: Insights from 10,000 Voters

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Vegan and vegetarian organizations welcomed news that Han Kang’s novel The Vegetarian topped a readers’ poll of International Booker Prize winners.

On May 4, the Korean Vegetarian Union, the Korean Vegan Alliance, the Korean Vegan & Vegetarian Association, Vegan Earth, and Citizens for a Vegan World issued a joint statement saying, \”We welcome The Vegetarian being chosen as the International Booker Prize’s ‘favorite work.’\”

The Booker Prize Foundation said a readers’ poll held to mark the International Booker Prize’s 10th anniversary named The Vegetarian the favorite among winners from the past decade. Roughly 10,000 readers participated, and The Vegetarian received about one-third of the votes.

The novel follows Yeong-hye, who, after recurring dreams, refuses to eat meat and then faces pressure, violence, and social oppression. Deborah Smith translated the book; it was published in the U.K. in 2015 and won the International Booker Prize in 2016.

The novel received renewed attention after Han Kang won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature. The Nobel Committee named Han Kang the 2024 laureate, and Kyobo Bookstore’s cumulative bestseller rankings for April 17, 2016–April 16, 2026 placed The Vegetarian at No. 1.

The groups described The Vegetarian as more than a novel, saying it exposes hidden oppression and violence in our society. They added that they hope the selection will prompt reflection on discrimination and coercion faced by vegetarians and on the violence of forcing people to eat meat.

Below is the full statement.

We welcome Han Kang’s The Vegetarian being named the International Booker Prize’s \”favorite work\”!

In a global public vote the Booker held on May 4, Han Kang’s The Vegetarian earned about one-third of the support from nearly 10,000 participants and was chosen as readers’ favorite among International Booker-winning works.

The Vegetarian portrays Yeong-hye’s refusal to eat meat after recurring nightmares and, in a feverish style, depicts how she endures hatred, violence, discrimination, oppression, and exploitation as she gradually becomes plant-like.

After winning the 2016 International Booker Prize, The Vegetarian drew explosive interest at home and abroad and topped Korea’s weekly general bestseller list for 12 consecutive weeks.

In 2024 Han Kang won the Nobel Prize in Literature — a milestone that renewed attention to The Vegetarian — and the book was also announced as the top-selling book in Korea for the 2016–2026 decade.

The Vegetarian is not simply a novel; it strips bare and exposes the hidden oppression and violence in our society. We welcome The Vegetarian’s selection as the International Booker Prize’s \”favorite work.\”

We also hope this prompts reflection on our society’s hidden discrimination and suppression of vegetarianism and on the suffocating violence of forcing meat consumption upon others.

May 4, 2026

Korean Vegetarian Union, Korean Vegan Alliance, Korean Vegan & Vegetarian Association, Vegan Earth, Citizens for a Vegan World