
As of 2023[update], the Nobel Prize has been awarded to 975 people and 27 organizations since it was founded in 1901.[1] As of October 2024[update], two Koreans have become a Nobel laureate: South Korean PresidentKim Dae-jung and writerHan Kang.
Kim was awarded the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to push for national reconciliation between the divided Koreas during a summit meeting inPyongyang.[2][3] One American who was born in South Korea to non-Korean parents,Charles J. Pedersen, won the 1987 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.[4][5]
Despite only having two Nobel laureates, numerous North and South Korean individuals (both citizens within the country and living indiasporic communities) and organizations have been nominated for the prize in any category.[6][7]
It was speculated that poor basic science education in school and universities was behind this, and steps were proposed to improve.[8][9] In 2022, PresidentYoon Suk-yeol voiced optimism over the future of the field of science in Korea, saying "Korea will have Nobel laureates soon."[10] For comparison,Japan had 25 Nobel laureates in science as of 2024[update].
| Year | Image | Laureate | Born | Died | Field | Citation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citizens | |||||||
| 2000 | Kim Dae-jung [김대중] | 6 January 1924 Hauido,South Jeolla, South Korea | 18 August 2009 Seoul, South Korea | Peace | "for his work for democracy and human rights in South Korea and in East Asia in general, and for peace and reconciliation with North Korea in particular."[11] | ||
| 2024 | Han Kang [한강] | 27 November 1970 Gwangju, South Korea | N/a | Literature | "for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life."[12] | ||
| Diaspora[a] | |||||||
| 1987 | Charles J. Pedersen[b] | 3 October 1904 Busan, South Korea | 26 October 1989 Salem, New Jersey, United States | Chemistry | "for their development and use of molecules withstructure-specific interactions of high selectivity."[13](jointly with American chemistDonald J. Cram and French chemistJean-Marie Lehn) | ||
The first Korean to earn a nomination for the Nobel Prize was the poetYi Gwangsu.[14] Unfortunately he died in 1950, therefore his nomination was done posthumously and, according to the Nobel statutes, posthumous nominations are automatically disqualified during the committee's deliberations.[15] Only living individuals and existing organizations are permitted to be nominated.[15][16] Since then, other Koreans began getting nominated for the prestigious Swedish prize in different categories. The following list are the nominees with verified nominations from theNobel Committee and recognized international organizations. There are also other purported nominees whose nominations are yet to be verified since the archives are revealed 50 years after,[15] among them:
| Image | Nominee | Born | Died | Years Nominated | Citation | Nominator(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physiology or Medicine | ||||||||
| Bun-ichi Hasama [挾間 文一][h] | 1898 inŌita, Japan | 1946 | 1938 | "for his work on changes in the electropotential of activeendocrine glands."[32] | Albrecht Bethe (1872–1954) | |||
| Literature | ||||||||
| Yi Gwangsu [이광수] (posthumously nominated) | 1 February 1892 inChongju,North Pyongan, North Korea | 25 October 1950 inManpo,Chagang, North Korea | 1970 | It Is Love (1909) Heartless (1917) Danjong Aesa (1929) Soil (1932)[14] | Baek Cheol (1908–1985) | |||
| Younghill Kang [강용흘] | 5 June 1898 inHongwon,South Hamgyong, North Korea | 2 December 1972 inSatellite Beach, Florida, United States | 1971 | The Grass Roof (1931) The Happy Grove (1933) East Goes West: The Making of an Oriental Yankee (1937)[33] | Robert Payne (1911–1983) | |||
| Eun Kook Kim [김은국] | 13 March 1932 inHamhung,South Hamgyong, North Korea | 23 June 2009 inShutesbury, Massachusetts, United States | 1971 | The Martyred (1964) The Innocent (1968) Lost Names (1970) In Search of Lost Years (1985)[34] | Baek Cheol (1908–1985) | |||
| Pak Tu-jin [박두진] | 10 March 1916 inAnseong,Gyeonggi, South Korea | 16 September 1998 inSeoul, South Korea | 1972 | The Sun (1949) A Prayer at Noon (1953) A Human Jungle (1963) Chronicles of Water and Stone (1973)[35] | ||||
| Kim Chi-ha [김지하] | 4 February 1941 inMokpo,South Jeolla, South Korea | 8 May 2022 inWonju,Gangwon, South Korea | 1976 | Cry of the People (1974) The Gold Crowned Jesus (1978) The Middle Hour (1980) Heart's Agony (1998)[36] | ||||
| Claudia Lee Hae-in [이해인] | 7 June 1945 inYanggu,Gangwon, South Korea | 2022 | ||||||
| Peace | ||||||||
| Ham Seok-heon [함석헌] | 13 March 1901 Yomju,North Pyongan, North Korea | 4 February 1989 Seoul, South Korea | 1979, 1985[37] | "for his lifelong commitment to peace and democracy, becoming an important Asian voice for human rights and non-violence known as 'seed idea' (ssi-al sasang)."[38][39] | ||||
| Moon Ik-hwan [문익환] | 2 June 1918 Longjing, Jilin, China | 18 January 1994 Fukuoka, Japan | 1992[37] | |||||
| Sun Myung Moon [문선명] | 6 January 1920 Chongju,North Pyongan, North Korea | 3 September 2012 Gapyeong,Gyeonggi, South Korea | 2002[40] | Professors World Peace Academy | ||||
| 6 Korean women (part of the1000 PeaceWomen)[i] | began in 2003 inBern, Switzerland | 2005 | "in recognition of women's efforts and visibility in promoting peace all over the world." | Ruth-Gaby Vermont-Mangold (b. 1941) | ||||
| Marianne Stöger | 24 April 1934 Matrei am Brenner,Tyrol, Austria | N/a | 2017,2020 | "for their four decades of work onSorok Island, looking afterHansen's disease patients with all their hearts."[41][42] | Kim Hwang-sik (born 1948) | |||
| Margaritha Pissarek | 9 June 1935 Austria | 29 September 2023 Austria | ||||||
The following Korean individuals became qualified nominators of local and foreign contenders for the Nobel Prize in any category:[43]
| Image | Nominator | Born | Died | Nominee | Motivation | Year Nominated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Literature | ||||||
| Baek Cheol [백철] | 18 March 1908 Uiju,North Pyongan, North Korea | 13 October 1985 Seoul, South Korea | Yi Gwangsu (1892–1950) | It Is Love (1909) Heartless (1917) Danjong Aesa (1929) Soil (1932) | 1970[44] | |
| Eun Kook Kim (1932–2009) | The Martyred (1964) The Innocent (1968) Lost Names (1970) In Search of Lost Years (1985) | 1971[44] | ||||
| Pak Tu-jin (1916–1998) | The Sun (1949) A Prayer at Noon (1953) A Human Jungle (1963) Chronicles of Water and Stone (1973) | 1972[35] | ||||
| Peace | ||||||
| Mun Hui-sok | N/a | 1977 South Korea | Universal Esperanto Association (founded in 1908) | "for their contribution to eliminating misunderstandings, suspicion and hatred amongst nations through the international languageEsperanto." | 1962[45] | |
| Rhee Hyo-sang [이효상] | 14 January 1906 Jung,Daegu,North Gyeongsang, South Korea | 18 June 1989 Seoul, South Korea | Hermann Gmeiner (1919–1986) | "for foundingSOS Children's Villages, and through his work gathering millions of people in the cause of good will for abandoned children." | 1965[46] | |
| Hi Sup Chung [정희섭] | 1 February 1920 Pyongwon,South Pyongan, North Korea | 26 October 1987 Uiwang,Gyeonggi, South Korea | Spurgeon Milton Keeney (1893–1988) | "for having, throughout his life, strived for freedom of the individual and full development of human beings as persons and for continuously striving for human betterment, for the dignity of the individual and for the coming together of all people." | 1969[47] | |
| Lee Hai-rang [이해랑] | 22 July 1916 Seoul, South Korea | 8 April 1989 Seoul, South Korea | (1892–1973) | 1972[48] | ||
| Kim Jong-pil [김종필] | 7 January 1926 South Chungcheong, South Korea | 23 June 2018 Seoul, South Korea | 1972[48] | |||
| Kim Hwang-sik [김황식] | 9 August 1948 Jangseong,South Jeolla, South Korea | Marianne Stöger (born 1934) | "for their four decades of work onSorok Island, looking afterHansen's disease patients with all their hearts." | 2020[41][42] | ||
| Margaritha Pissarek (1935–2023) | ||||||