Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich, a native of Ukraine's Ivano-Frankivsk and raised in Belarus, has been selected as the recipient of the 6th Jeju 4.3 Peace Prize. The Jeju 4.3 Peace Foundation announced on March 31 that Alexievich had expressed her willingness to accept the award and that the final decision was made by the Peace Prize Committee.

Alexievich was born in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, and studied journalism at Minsk University in Belarus. As a regional newspaper journalist, she collected testimonies of those who lost their voices in historical events such as World War II, the Soviet-Afghan War, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

She is known for her unique writing style called the "novel of voices," which blurs the boundaries between literature and journalism. Through this approach, she recorded the lives of marginalized individuals such as women, children, soldiers, and survivors, exposing the true face of war and violence. Her notable work, "War's Unwomanly Face," shed light on the experiences of women who were silenced in the male-centric discourse of war, garnering significant attention. Other works like "Zinc Boys," "Voices from Chernobyl," and "Second-Hand Time" vividly captured the voices of individuals sacrificed to national ideologies.

Alexievich was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2015. The Swedish Academy described her as a writer who has produced diverse works showcasing the suffering and courage of our time. They praised her for revealing the inner lives of people who survived in silence during an era dominated by political propaganda.

In addition to her writing, Alexievich has actively participated in social activities for democracy. During the pro-democracy protests against the dictatorship in Belarus in 2020, she was a member of the coordination council composed of opposition figures, which led to her being targeted by the authorities. She is currently residing in Germany for health reasons.

The Jeju 4.3 Peace Prize Committee evaluated Alexievich's work as revealing the dignity of individuals who lived through an era of oppression and silence by recording the memories of war and regime violence through personal voices. They stated that her work is symbolically connected to the truth-finding efforts of the Jeju 4.3 incident.

The Jeju 4.3 Peace Foundation will hold an award ceremony on April 29 at 5 p.m. at the Maestro Glad Jeju Convention Hall. A joint press conference with the laureate is scheduled for 4 p.m. on the same day. The recipient will receive a trophy and a prize of $50,000 (approximately 73 million Korean won).

The foundation expressed that Alexievich's award will serve as an opportunity to promote the values of peace, human rights, and democracy pursued by Jeju 4.3 on a global scale. They also stated their commitment to continuing efforts for the Jeju 4.3 Peace Prize to evolve into a leading peace prize representing Asia.