Cheon Myeong-kwan's 'Whale' of a tale makes International Booker Prize shortlist

Cheon Myeong-kwan's "Whale" on Tuesday evening became the fourth Korean novel ever to make it onto the International Booker Prize’s shortlist. Published 19 years ago, it was only recently translated into English by Kim Chi-young, and the...

The cover of "Whale," written by Cheon Myeong-kwan and translated into English by Kim Chi-young. The English version of the novel was published by Europa Editions in January. [SCREEN CAPTURE/INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE]

Cheon Myeong-kwan's "Whale" on Tuesday evening became the fourth Korean novel ever to make it onto the International Booker Prize’s shortlist.

Published 19 years ago, it was only recently translated into English by Kim Chi-young, and the translated book was released by an independent publisher, Europa Editions, in January.

Korean books that have previously been nominated for the International Booker Prize's shortlist are "The Vegetarian" (2007) and "The White Book" (2016), written by Han Kang and translated by Deborah Smith, and "Cursed Bunny" (2017), written by Bora Chung and translated by Anton Hur. "The Vegetarian" won the prize in 2016. It is the first and only Korean work to have won the award.

Cheon is a novelist, screenwriter and director, born in 1964 in Yongin, Gyeonggi. After deciding against college, he began writing screenplays in the 1990s. His works at the time include the 1995 comedy “Man with a Gun” and the 1999 drama “A Great Chinese Restaurant.” He made his directorial debut in 2022 with the crime-action movie “Hot Blooded,” though it wasn’t able to garner many audiences after the release date got pushed back three years due to Covid-19.

Cheon Myeong-kwan, 59 [YONHAP]

Cheon debuted as a novelist in his 40s, with a short story titled “Frank and I” (translated) in 2003. It was awarded the locally-prestigious Munhakdongne New Writer Award. His debut novel, “Whale,” was published the following year and won the 10th Munhakdongne Novel Award. He subsequently penned short stories “The Pleasant Maid Marissa” (translated, 2012), “Manual Worker Who Runs With a Turkey” (translated, 2014) and “Homecoming” (2015), and novels “Modern Family” (2012), “My Uncle Bruce Lee 1, 2,” (2012) and “This is a Man’s World” (2016).

“Modern Family” was adapted into the hit movie “Boomerang Family” (2013) starring Academy Award-winner Youn Yuh-jung as well as Park Hae-il and Kong Hyo-jin.

The translator of “Whale,” Kim Chi-young, is based in Los Angeles. Her previous accolades as a translator include the Man Asian Literary Prize for her work on “Please Look After Mom” by Shin Kyung-sook (2011). She has translated over a dozen books, including works by notable Korean authors Kim Ae-ran, Jeong You-jeong and Kim Young-ha.

“Whale,” according to Europa Editions, is a three-part, multi-generational saga, following the lives of three characters: Chunhui, a young brickmaker who is mute and can communicate with elephants; her ambitious mother who has been chasing after an indescribable thrill ever since she saw a whale crest in the ocean; and a one-eyed woman who controls honeybees with a whistle.

The judges of the Booker Prize wrote on the award ceremony's official website: “A carnivalesque fairy tale that celebrates independence and enterprise, a picaresque quest through Korea’s landscapes and history, ‘Whale’ is a riot of a book. Cheon Myeong-Kwan’s vivid characters are foolish but wise, awful but endearing, and always irrepressible. This is a hymn to restlessness and self-transformation."

The five other books that were included in Tuesday's shortlist are: “Boulder” by Eva Baltasar, translated from Catalan by Julia Sanches; “The Gospel According to the New World” by Maryse Condé, translated from French by Richard Philcox; “Standing Heavy” by GauZ, translated from French by Frank Wynne; “Time Shelter” by Georgi Gospodinov, translated from Bulgarian by Angela Rodel; and “Still Born” by Guadalupe Nettel, translated from Spanish by Rosalind Harvey.

The winner of the International Booker will be announced in London on May 23 and will receive 50,000 pounds ($65,000) to be shared evenly between the author and the translator.

The Booker Prize, founded in 2005, is considered one of the three largest literary awards in the world. It was established to honor distinguished international works of fiction that have been translated into English.

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]