Daesan Literary awards winners announced

Poet Jin Eun-young, author Kim Soom, playwright Koh Yeon-ok and translator Choi Yang-hee were chosen as the winners of the 21st Daesan Literary Awards.

Kim Soom, 39, won the prize for her sixth novel “Women and their Evolving Enemies,” which deals with a woman and her conflicting relationship with her mother-in-law.

Jin, 43, received the prize for her poem titled “A Stealing Song,” while playwright Koh Yeon-ok, 42, won the honor for her play “Father in a Scabbard,” a tale about a son who plots revenge against the person who killed his warrior father.

Meanwhile, Australia-based translator and scholar Choi Yang-hee, 81, won the honor for translating “Jehol Journal,” a text written by the renowned Joseon scholar Bak Ji-won (1737-1805), following an extensive tour of what was then northern Qing territory of China in 1780. Choi is the daughter of famed literary critic and scholar Choi Jae-seo (1908-1964), and also the aunt of American novelist Susan Choi.

The award ceremony will be held on Dec. 3 at the Korea Press Foundation building in central Seoul. Each winner will receive 50 million won in prize money.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)