Han Kang and Isabelle Huppert in conversation ahead of their appearance at the Avignon Festival

Han Kang and Isabelle Huppert had never met other than through their respective books and films. They will get to know each other in the flesh in a small bookstore in Seoul at the beginning of July and, more broadly, at the Avignon Festival, in the main courtyard of the Popes' Palace later this month. Last week, French newspaper Libération gave them the chance to speak in advance via a video conversation, where they met warmly and discussed their relationship to the past and to writing, the importance of friendship and language, and their upcoming appearances in Avignon. You can read the full interview here. 

Korean is the guest language of the 80th edition of the Avignon Festival, and on July 15th and 16th, Isabelle Huppert and Korean actress Lee Hye-young will perform a bilingual reading of the first chapter of WE DO NOT PART, the latest novel by Han Kang, who was the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2024. The performance has been developed under the direction of the formidable director Julie Deliquet, and Han Kang will also be in attendance.