How the Nobel Literature Prize Affects the National Economy

     10th of October, 2024 was the date when the first Korean Author, Han Kang, won the Nobel Literature Prize. As the first Korean woman author to win the Nobel Literature Prize, the world produced various types of interest in the 2024 Nobel Prize. There were interests in not only the 11 million Swedish Crowns (986000 USD) the winners received, but also the special demand the literature winners received. In the case of South Korea, the so-called Trickle Down Effect occurred. Trickle Down Effect as in economics is when the upper class gets an issue or advantage, the lower class also gets the same issue or advantage, adopted by their situation. South Korean analysts claim that currently, South Korea is showing a high demand for reading physical copies of the book compared to the past demand for books. Writer Han Kang’s Nobel Prize book, The Vegetarian, sold around 1 million copies only 5 days after the announcement of the Nobel Prize. Since The Vegetarian is not the only book written by Han Kang, other books such as Human Acts or The White Book are also part of the effect. However, the biggest Trickle Down Effect goes to the other books that are not written by Han Kang. About 49.3% of South Korean novels were sold after the announcement of the Nobel Prize according to some of the biggest Novel production companies.

     All of the aforementioned aspects illustrate that the Nobel Prize definitely has a huge impact on the economic aspect. These might not be the only aspects affected by the Nobel Prize of an individual, however. Considering the fact that the Nobel Prize connects each nation with one particular factor, it can also relate to the global exchange. The cultural exchange as in literature is quite straightforward. As the Nobel Prize considers the majority of the nations in the whole world, every nation and people can get interested in the Nobel Prize novels. This can also lead to the extension of global economic interaction where people consume other nations’ cultures more than they did before. This is the hidden economic development of the Nobel Prize after being announced.

     The Nobel Prize is provided to an individual that it primarily serves as a recognition for the person. However, people cannot ignore that the prize has a high value of global interaction and economical development while creating a new effect on various types of situations after or even before the proclamation of the prize.