Byung-Chul Han (born 1959) is a South Korean-born philosopher and cultural theorist living in Germany. He was a professor at the Berlin University of the Arts and still occasionally gives courses there. His work largely centers around critiques of neoliberalism and its impact on society and the individual. Although he writes in German, his books have been best received in the Hispanosphere.

Byung-Chul Han studied metallurgy at Korea University in Seoul before moving to Germany in the 1980s to study philosophy, German literature and Catholic theology in Freiburg im Breisgau and Munich. In 1994, he received his doctoral degree at Freiburg with a dissertation on Stimmung, or mood, in Martin Heidegger.

In 2000, he joined the Department of Philosophy at the University of Basel, where he completed his habilitation. In 2010, he became a faculty member at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design, where his areas of interest were philosophy of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, ethics, social philosophy, phenomenology, cultural theory, aesthetics, religion, media theory, and intercultural philosophy. From 2012 to 2017 he taught philosophy and cultural studies at the Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK), where he directed the newly established Studium Generale general studies program.

Han is the author of more than thirty books, the most well known are treatises on what he terms a "society of tiredness" (Müdigkeitsgesellschaft) and a "society of transparency" (Transparenzgesellschaft). He also wrote about the concept of shanzhai (山寨), a style of imitative variation, which pre-exist practices known in Western philosophy as deconstructive.

Han's current work focuses on transparency as a cultural norm created by neoliberal market forces, which he understands as the insatiable drive toward voluntary disclosure bordering on the pornographic. According to Han, the dictates of transparency enforce a totalitarian system of openness at the expense of other social values such as shame, secrecy, and trust. To rebel against digital capitalism, Han does not own a smartphone, does not engage in tourism, only listens to music in analog form, and has spent years cultivating a 'secret garden', an experience he describes in his book In Praise of the Earth.

Through his career, Han has refused to give radio and television interviews and rarely divulges any biographical or personal details, including his date of birth, in public. Although he did give a press conference prior to receiving The Princess of Asturias Award in 2025, he refused the typical press conference offered to a recipient each year. He accepted the press conference after some hesitation, but only answered questions related to his work. He is a Catholic.

Han has written on topics such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, borderline personality disorder, burnout, depression, exhaustion, internet, love, multitasking, pop culture, power, rationality, religion, social media, subjectivity, tiredness, transparency and violence.

Much of Han's writing is characterised by an underlying concern with the situation encountered by human subjects in the fast-paced, technologically driven state of late capitalism. The situation is explored through several themes in his books: sexuality, mental health (particularly burnout, depression, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), violence, freedom, technology, and popular culture.