Philosopher Byung-Chul Han won the 2025 Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities.

Philosopher and essayist Byung-Chul Han won the 2025 Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities for the "brilliance" with which he has "interpreted the challenges of technological society," according to the jury, who also praised his work on digitalization and dehumanization.

The jury's report, read this afternoon in Oviedo by its president, the director of the Prado Museum, Miguel Falomir, states that Han's work "reveals an extraordinary capacity to communicate new ideas precisely and directly, drawing on philosophical traditions from both East and West."

Byung-Chul Han's analysis is "extremely fruitful and provides insights into issues such as dehumanization, digitalization, and the isolation of individuals," the verdict states.

For the jury, the intercultural perspective of the German philosopher and essayist of South Korean origin sheds light on complex phenomena in the contemporary world and has resonated widely with audiences of diverse generations.

The nomination of Byung-Chul Han (Seoul, 1959), who takes over as winner in this category from the French-Iranian cartoonist, filmmaker and painter Marjane Satrapi, was proposed by Antonio Lucas Herrero, Culture editor and columnist for the newspaper El Mundo.

The Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities, for which forty-seven candidates from sixteen nationalities were nominated this year, is intended to recognize "the work of cultivating and perfecting the sciences and disciplines considered humanistic activities and those related to the media in all their forms."

Previous recipients of this award have also included the Italian philosopher, writer, and professor Nuccio Ordine; the journalist and writer Adam Michnik; the Guadalajara International Book Fair (Mexico) and the Hay Festival of Literature & Arts; the Prado Museum; the journalist Alma Guillermoprieto; Les Luthiers; the photographers James Nachtwey and Annie Leibovitz; the philosopher Emilio Lledó; the cartoonist Joaquín Salvador Lavado "Quino"; the video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto; and The Royal Society.

The Communications and Humanities Award was the first of eight Princess of Asturias Foundation awards to be presented this year.

Following the Communications and Humanities awards, the juries will decide on the Literature awards on May 14; Social Sciences on May 21; Arts on May 23; Sports on May 28; Concordia on June 4; Scientific and Technical Research on June 12; and International Cooperation on June 18.

Han analyzes how contemporary society has moved from external discipline to voluntary self-exploitation, where the individual becomes his own exploiter, leading to exhaustion and illnesses such as depression. Esfinge Magazine +4 Book Review of History and Economics +4

He criticizes the modern obsession with transparency, arguing that it eliminates the negativity necessary for life, such as mystery and ambiguity, and leads to a society of surveillance and control.

It explores how overexposure and the loss of otherness in human relationships have led to a crisis of desire and love, eroding the capacity for deep connection between people.

Analyzes the impact of social media and digitalization on society, describing how digital communication has transformed the public sphere and human interaction.

Examines how neoliberal power operates through seduction and self-exploitation, using individual freedom as a tool of control, rather than direct repression.

Reflect on the acceleration of time in modernity and how this constant rush has led to a temporal crisis, affecting the capacity for contemplation and meaningful experiences.

He criticizes the aestheticization of contemporary society, where beauty is reduced to the polished and the positive, eliminating the depth and negativity that enrich the aesthetic experience.

It proposes a new understanding of violence in today's society, which is no longer explicit, but manifests itself systemically and silently, through structures that promote self-exploitation.

It addresses how contemporary society tends to eliminate otherness and difference, promoting a homogenization that impoverishes human experience and coexistence.

It examines entertainment culture and how it has replaced deeper forms of experience and reflection, contributing to a superficial and meaningless society.

Reflects on the need to reconnect with the earth and nature in an increasingly digital world disconnected from the tangible and the real.

Explores how the loss of rituals in modern society has led to a crisis of meaning and community, affecting social cohesion and collective identity.

He criticizes the growing importance of the intangible and digital in modern life, arguing that the proliferation of "non-things" has led to a disconnection from reality and direct experience.

Analyzes how the overabundance of information and digitalization have transformed democracy, creating new forms of control and manipulation through information.

He advocates the recovery of contemplation and inactivity as forms of resistance to the hyperactivity and constant productivity of contemporary society.

Reflects on how the loss of coherent narratives in modern society has led to a fragmentation of experience and a crisis of meaning.