Germany's 'Kairos' wins International Booker Prize over Hwang Sok-yong's 'Mater 2-10'
Published: 22 May. 2024, 06:53
Updated: 22 May. 2024, 07:26
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- LEE JIAN
- lee.jian@joongang.co.kr
![German novel “Kairos” won the International Booker Prize over Korea’s “Mater 2-10” and others on Wednesday. [INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE/SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/05/22/d300d934-3098-4c3b-888d-6dc336a60b0a.jpg)
German novel “Kairos” won the International Booker Prize over Korea’s “Mater 2-10” and others on Wednesday. [INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE/SCREEN CAPTURE]
German novel “Kairos” won the International Booker Prize over Korea’s “Mater 2-10” and others on Wednesday.
Written by Jenny Erpenbeck and translated by Michael Hofmann, the winning writers will evenly split the top prize of ￡50,000 ($64,000).
“Kairos” follows a destructive love affair between a 19-year-old student and a 50-year-old married man who meet in East Berlin in the late 1980s.
“It starts with love and passion, but it's at least as much about power, art and culture," chair of judges Eleanor Wachtel said."The self-absorption of the lovers, their descent into a destructive vortex, remains connected to the larger history of East Germany during this period, often meeting history at odd angles."
"Kairos" is Erpenbeck's fourth novel. Her previous work, "Go, Went, Gone" was longlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2018.
“Mater 2-10” by Hwang Sok-yong and translated by Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae was shortlisted for the prize in April along with “Not a River” written by Selva Almada and translated by Annie McDermott; “What I’d Rather Not Think About” written by Jente Posthuma and translated by Sarah Timmer Harvey; “Crooked Plow” written by Itamar Vieira Junior and translated by Johnny Lorenz; and “The Details” written by Ia Genberg and translated by Kira Josefsson.
!["Mater 2-10" by Hwang Sok-yong, translated by Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae [INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE/SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/05/22/6e732df7-7275-48c4-aae1-77373f14455b.jpg)
"Mater 2-10" by Hwang Sok-yong, translated by Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae [INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE/SCREEN CAPTURE]
“Mater 2-10” is an epic tale of the working-class lives of Koreans, covering around 1,000 years of Korean history. The award’s judges evaluated it as a “large and comprehensive book about a Korea we rarely see in the West, blending the sweeping historical narrative of a nation with an individual's quest for justice.”
It was first published in Korea in 2020, and its English paperback came out last year under Scribe Publications.
The book is inspired by Hwang’s real-life encounter with a North Korean activist. He wrote the book some 30 years after the meeting, at the age of 78.
Hwang announced last week that he plans to continue writing, during the International Booker Prize Shortlist Readings at Southbank Centre, London. Recognizing many other authors retire by the time they are his age, he hopes to write three more books before he stops working.
“I know I’m holding a walking stick today. I had a little slip in the bathroom this morning, but I am otherwise very healthy!”
Hwang, 81, is a prolific writer with well-known works, such as “At Dusk” (2018), “The Ancient Garden” (2009), “The Guest” (2002) and “The Shadow of Arms” (1994). He has been shortlisted for Prix Femina Etranger and was awarded the Emile Guimet Prize for Asian Literature.
Korean books that have previously been nominated for the International Booker's shortlist are "The Vegetarian" (2007) and "The White Book" (2016), both written by Han Kang and translated by Deborah Smith; "Cursed Bunny" (2017), written by Bora Chung and translated by Anton Hur; and “Whale” (2004), written by Cheon Myeong-kwan and translated by Kim Chi-young. "The Vegetarian" won the prize in 2016. It is the first and only Korean work to have won the award.
The International Booker, founded in 2005, is considered one of the three largest literary awards in the world. It was established to annually honor distinguished international works of fiction that have been translated into English.
BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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