Hwang Sok-yong's 'Mater 2-10' misses out on International Booker Prize

2024. 5. 22. 14:00
글자크기 설정 파란원을 좌우로 움직이시면 글자크기가 변경 됩니다.

이 글자크기로 변경됩니다.

(예시) 가장 빠른 뉴스가 있고 다양한 정보, 쌍방향 소통이 숨쉬는 다음뉴스를 만나보세요. 다음뉴스는 국내외 주요이슈와 실시간 속보, 문화생활 및 다양한 분야의 뉴스를 입체적으로 전달하고 있습니다.

From left, South Korean author Hwang Sok-yong, translators Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae pose on the red carpet upon arrival for the 2024 International Booker Prize ceremony, at Tate Modern in central London, on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

South Korean literary giant Hwang Sok-yong's missed out on the 2024 Booker International Prize after making the shortlist with "Mater 2-10."

The prestigious literary award ceremony took place at the Tate Modern in London on Tuesday, where the jury announced German author Jenny Erpenbeck's "Kairos," translated by Michael Hofmann, as this year's winner. Erpenbeck's winning title tells the story of a tangled love affair during the final years of East Germany.

Hwang's "Mater 2-10," translated by Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae, was among the six shortlisted books vying for the coveted literary accolade.

Centered on three generations of a family of rail workers and a laid-off factory worker staging a high-altitude sit-in, “Mater 2-10” (titled “Three Generations of Railworkers” in Korean) depicts the lives of ordinary working-class Koreans. The narrative unfolds from the Japanese colonial era, through liberation and into the 21st century, spanning over a century.

This was the second time Hwang had been nominated for the award. In 2019, his work “At Dusk,” also translated by Kim-Russell, secured a spot on the longlist.

Korean literature celebrated its third consecutive year with a work on the Booker Prize International shortlist, following Bora Chung’s “Cursed Bunny,” translated by Anton Hur, in 2022; and Cheon Myeong-kwan’s “Whale,” translated by Chi-Young Kim.

This was also the seventh time that a South Korean novel has been nominated for the esteemed award that was established in 2005. Park Sang-young’s “Love in the Big City,” also translated by Hur, was longlisted in 2022. Han Kang’s “The Vegetarian,” translated by Deborah Smith, won the prize in 2016, while Han’s “The White Book,” also translated by Smith, was shortlisted in 2018.

The International Booker Prize is awarded annually, running alongside the Booker Prize for English-language fiction, which will be presented in the fall.

By Hwang Dong-hee(hwangdh@heraldcorp.com)

Copyright © 코리아헤럴드. 무단전재 및 재배포 금지.

이 기사에 대해 어떻게 생각하시나요?