Hwang Sok-yong's epic novel "Mater 2-10" is shortlisted for this year's International Booker Prize, one of the U.K.'s leading literary awards. (Changbi Publishers)

By Yoon Seungjin

"Mater 2-10," the English-language translation of Hwang Sok-yong's epic novel "Cheoldo Samdae" (Three Generations of Rail Workers), is shortlisted for this year's International Booker Prize.

The accolade is a sister honor of the U.K. Man Booker Prize, one of the world's most prestigious literary awards along with the Nobel Prize for Literature and Prix Goncourt of France.

The Booker selection committee on April 9 announced on its official website the six shortlisted titles including Hwang's chosen from the initial 13 longlisted entries.

Hwang reportedly took over 30 years to write his masterpiece from inception to completion. Chronicling the saga of a family of railroad workers, the novel vividly portrays the lives of such laborers from the time of Japanese occupation of Korea to present day.

The translators of the English-language edition were Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae.

The other five finalists are Selva Almada's "Not a River," Yente Posthuma's "What I'd Rather Not Think About," Ia Genberg's "The Details," Itamar Vieira Jr.'s "Crooked Plow" and Jenny Erpenbeck's "Kairos."

Launched in 2005, the International Booker Prize honors authors and translators of works translated into English by non-English-speaking authors. The first Korean to win the award was Han Kang in 2016 for "The Vegetarian," and Bora Chung's "The Cursed Bunny" was shortlisted in 2018 and Cheon Myeong-kwan's "The Whale" in 2021.

Hwang's short novel "At Dusk" in 2019 was longlisted for the prize but did not make the final cut.

This year's winner will be announced at the awards ceremony on May 21 in London.

scf2979@korea.kr