The Vegetarian

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of physical abuse, sexual violence, and gender discrimination.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What were your immediate reactions to Yeong-hye’s decision to become a vegetarian, and how did your understanding of her choice evolve throughout the novel?

2. Han Kang structures The Vegetarian in three distinct parts, each from a different perspective. How did this affect your experience of the story? What insights did each narrator’s perspective provide?

3. The Vegetarian has been compared to Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis in how it depicts a character’s transformation and alienation. If you’ve read Kafka’s work, what similarities or differences did you notice in how the authors explore bodily transformation as a response to societal pressure?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Throughout the novel, characters make choices that either conform to or rebel against social expectations. Can you recall a time when you had to choose between social norms and individual desires? What influenced your decision?

2. The family meal scene reveals how Yeong-hye’s refusal to eat meat disrupts family harmony. Have you ever experienced or witnessed a situation during which someone’s choices created tension within a family gathering?

3. In-hye and Yeong-hye represent different responses to trauma—one choosing rigid control and perseverance, the other choosing withdrawal and transformation. Which response resonates more with how you’ve coped with difficult experiences?

4. The novel explores how silence can be both a form of resistance and an effect of suffering. How do you interpret silence in your own relationships? When has silence been meaningful or impactful in your life?

5. Trees and plants gain an almost mystical quality in the novel, particularly for Yeong-hye. Is there an element from the natural world that holds special significance for you, and why?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The Vegetarian depicts the consequences that women face when they deviate from societal expectations in Korean society. How do these compare to the pressures on women in your own cultural context? How does this novel’s portrayal compare to other works focused on Korean women, such as Frances Cha’s If I Had Your Face?

2. The novel portrays various forms of violence against women, from physical abuse to sexual assault. How does Han Kang’s treatment of these themes contribute to broader discussions about gender-based violence in society?

3. Yeong-hye’s vegetarianism is portrayed not just as a dietary choice but as a radical act of defiance. How does the novel frame food choices as political or moral statements, and how does this compare to current conversations around vegetarianism and veganism?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Each section of the novel is narrated from a different perspective, yet Yeong-hye’s voice appears primarily in italicized dream sequences. How does this narrative technique affect your understanding of Yeong-hye’s character?

2. The novel uses the Mongolian mark as a significant symbol. How does this birthmark function in the story, and what does it represent in relation to Yeong-hye’s transformation?

3. Han Kang employs vivid bodily imagery throughout the novel. How do descriptions of the human body—particularly Yeong-hye’s evolving body—reinforce the novel’s themes?

4. The dreams in the novel are both plot drivers and windows into characters’ psyches. How do these dream sequences contrast with the realistic elements of the story, and what purpose do they serve?

5. How does the motif of flowers, particularly in the second part of the novel, function as both an artistic element and a symbol of Yeong-hye’s transformation?

6. The novel ends with In-hye looking at trees “as if waiting for an answer” (188). What do you make of this ambiguous ending? How does it resolve (or leave unresolved) the novel’s central conflicts?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. How do you think Yeong-hye would narrate her own story if given the chance in a final chapter? What would she reveal about her transformation that the other narrators couldn’t understand?

2. How would you reimagine the story if told from the perspective of a minor character like Hee-joo, the patient who cares for Yeong-hye at the hospital? What new insights might emerge?

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