Korean Novel 'Whale' Shortlisted for Int'l Booker Prize

Cheon Myeong-kwan's novel "Whale" has been shortlisted for the U.K.'s International Booker Prize.

The Booker Prize Foundation on Tuesday unveiled the shortlist of six books and their translators, who share the prize with the author.

Cheon attributed his success to timing. "The book was translated in time for the rise of Korean literature on the world stage," he said. 

The multi-generational fantasy was published in Korea in 2004 and translated by U.S.-based literary translator Kim Chi-young, who trained as a lawyer before taking up translation.

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

This is the fourth time that a Korean author made the shortlist after Han Kang with "The Vegetarian" in 2016, which won, and "The White Book" in 2018 and Chung Bo-ra with "Cursed Bunny" in 2022.  

The winner will be announced on May 23.