Novelist Cheon Myeong-kwan Longlisted for Int'l Booker Prize

Korean author Cheon Myeong-kwan's novel "Whale" has been longlisted for Britain's International Booker Prize.

The Booker Prize Foundation on Tuesday announced the list of 13 books along with their translators, as they share the prize.

"Whale" is translated by Kim Chi-young, a U.S.-based literary translator and editor, who trained as a lawyer before taking up translation.

The shortlist of six finalists will be announced on April 18 and the winner on May 23.

The Booker Prize is one of the world's most prestigious literary awards along with the Nobel Prize in Literature and France's Goncourt Prize.

Han Kang won the honor for "The Vegetarian" in 2016. Last year, Chung Bo-ra was among the finalists with "Cursed Bunny," and Park Sang-young was longlisted with "Love in the Big City."