Booker triumph ushers in new era for South Korean writers

Seoul : South Korean writer Han Kang's Booker prize marks a major victory for a decade-long effort to drag one of Asia's oldest but, until recently, least-known literary traditions into the global market.

Literary merits aside, the success of Kang's novel "The Vegetarian" was aided by a number of factors that have coincided with South Korea's emergence as an increasingly prominent player on the global cultural stage.

An institute dedicated to translating new works, a fresh breed of writers with a more international outlook and a new generation of talented, dedicated translators have all played their part -- and, publishing insiders say, will all share in Kang's triumph.

"It's going to have an enormous impact," Seoul-based independent literary agent Joseph Lee said.

"For the writers, it will provide motivation and confidence that our literature has potential in the overseas market.

"For the publishers, it will push them to focus on discovering good writers and strong works and to approach the foreign market with a clear strategy," Lee told AFP.

Kang shared the £50,000 ($72,000, 63,500 euro) cheque that accompanied the Man Booker International Prize with her British translator Deborah Smith.

Described as "lyrical and lacerating" by chairman of the judges Boyd Tonkin, "The Vegetarian" traces the story of an ordinary woman's rejection of convention from three different perspectives.