Two Korean novelists longlisted for 2022 International Booker Prize

SEOUL, March 11 (Yonhap) -- Two South Korean novelists have been longlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize, one of the three largest literary awards in the world. Chung Bora of "Cursed Bunny" and Park Sang-young of "Love in the Big City" were among the 13 preliminary nominees for the British prize, established in 2005 to honor an author and translator equally for a single work of fiction translated into English, according to the event's organizer on its website Thursday (local time). The Nobel prize-winning writer Olga Tokarczuk's "The Book of Jacob" is also included on the 13-work list. It is the first time that two South Korean authors have made the prize's longlist at the same time. Chung and Park are the third and fourth Koreans to be nominated for the prize, after Han Kang in 2016 and 2018 and Hwang Sok-yong in 2019. Han was awarded for "The Vegetarian" in 2016. Moreover, translator Anton Hur has the honor of being longlisted for both Korean works this year. Judges said Chung's "Cursed Bunny" defies genres, "blurring the lines between magical realism, horror and science fiction." They also praised "Love in the Big City" as an "energetic, joyful and moving" novel. The shortlist of six books will be announced April 7, and the winner on May 26. The top prize of 50,000 pounds (US$65,000) will be shared equally by the author and the translator. brk@yna.co.kr (END)