Byung-Chul Han (1959–) is a South Korean-born philosopher based in Germany. Born in Seoul, he studied philosophy, German literature, and theology in Germany, earning his doctorate in 1994 with a thesis on Martin Heidegger. He taught at the University of Basel and Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design before serving as a professor at the Berlin University of the Arts. His work examines how contemporary capitalism and digital technology reshape working life and relationships with others. In “The Burnout Society,” he analyzes self-exploitation: the process by which people pursuing achievement and self-realization drive themselves toward exhaustion. “The Transparency Society” explores how demands to make everything visible can strengthen surveillance and control. In “Infocracy: Digitization and the Crisis of Democracy,” he argues that information overload and polarization on social media undermine democracy’s foundations in listening and public discussion. In 2025, he received the Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities.
