Jo Nam-joo's 'Kim Ji-young, Born 1982' Nominated for Emil C. Gim? Asia Literary Award

Cover of the French edition of "Kim Ji-young, Born 1982" by author Jo Nam-joo / Photo by Korea Literature Translation Institute

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Novels by Korean authors have been consecutively nominated for European literary awards. Cho Nam-joo was nominated for the French ?mile Guimet Asian Literature Prize, while Jung Yoo-jung and Pyun Hye-young were nominated for the German LiBeratur Prize.

According to the Korea Literature Translation Institute under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the 13th, Cho Nam-joo's novel "Kim Ji-young, Born 1982" was included among the 10 first-round nominees for the French ?mile Guimet Asian Literature Prize.

The ?mile Guimet Asian Literature Prize was established in 2017 by the Guimet Museum, a national museum of Asian art located in Paris, France. It annually selects awardees from contemporary Asian literary works translated and published in French within the past year. This year, five final nominees will be selected in September, and the final winner will be announced in November.

Previously, in Korean literature, Hwang Sok-yong's "At Dusk" won the prize in 2018, and last year, Eun Hee-kyung's "Please Look After Mom" was selected as a final nominee.

Jung Yoo-jung's "Origin of Species" and Pyun Hye-young's "Hole" were both nominated for the German LiBeratur Prize.

The LiBeratur Prize is awarded to one female author from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and other regions to introduce their literature to German readers.

Nominees are selected from female authors featured on the recommended reading lists published quarterly by Litprom, an institution under the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany. This year, a total of 12 authors were nominated, and the winner will be decided by an online vote of global readers. The results will be announced in October.

Previously, in Korean literature, Oh Jung-hee won the LiBeratur Prize in 2003 with "Bird," and Lee Hye-kyung received the LiBeratur Encouragement Award in 2004 for "House on the Road." In 2018, Han Kang's "The Boy Who Came" and Kim Ae-ran's "My Brilliant Life" were nominated.