South Korean author Han Kang, who won this year's Nobel Prize in Literature, says she is "shocked" by the political crisis in her country after the president briefly imposed martial law. "To write 'Human Acts,' I spent a lot of time studying the martial law situation that happened" after the 1979 and 1980 coups d'etat, Han recounts in Stockholm. "To witness a similar situation unfold in real time before my eyes in 2024 was startling, Han adds ahead of next week's glittering Nobel Prize ceremony, where she will receive her award. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES