Mirinae Lee, author of 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster / Courtesy of Mirinae Lee

Mirinae Lee has won the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, a prestigious U.S. book award for emerging authors, making her the first Korean citizen to achieve this feat.

“8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster,” a novel by Lee published last year, won the prize, given biannually by Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation, along with “Orphan Bachelors,” an autobiography by Chinese-American author Fae Myenne Ng.

Inspired by the true story of Lee’s great-aunt, who fled North Korea alone, her novel revolves around stories of life in the demilitarized zone that separates North and South Korea.

“Lee’s characters are so fascinating and complicated that the need to unravel them and uncover their secrets creates unexpected tension and a desire to get to the answers quickly. At the same time, however, her lyrical and evocative prose demands that you savor each page slowly,” said the judges of the Saroyan Prize Fiction.

The cover of “8 Lives of the Century-Old Trickster” by Mirinae Lee / Courtesy of HarperCollins

They called Lee’s book “a wonderfully complex story of human weaknesses and strengths.”

Lee, who currently lives in Hong Kong, completed her elementary, middle and high school education in Korea before moving to the United States to study English literature in college.

Before she wrote her first feature film, “8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster,” she had already published short stories in several well-known literary magazines. (Yonhap)