'A 1938 Taiwan Travelogue,' the first Chinese-language novel (and naturally, the first Taiwanese novel) to win the International Booker Prize in 2026, is garnering significant attention.

This book, translated and published in Korea in 2025, is by Yang Shuang-tzu, who already made waves by winning the translated fiction category of the National Book Award in the U.S. in 2024.

The novel delicately portrays the (impossible) friendship between Aoyama Chizuko, a Japanese female novelist who embarks on a journey to Taiwan in 1938, and Wang Chen-ho, a Taiwanese woman who serves as her interpreter.

As the two women travel across Taiwan, they experience Taiwanese delicacies such as lou-shao (braised pork), Taiwanese-style curry, mo-a-in-teng, and guazi. Chen-ho, who is engaged to be married according to her family's wishes, is kind to Chizuko but maintains a certain distance. Chizuko finds this superficial friendship regrettable.

Food featured in the novel. [AI Image]

1938 was the year the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out. Japan, which initiated the Mukden Incident in 1931, expanded its offensive into mainland China, capturing cities like Anyang, Kaifeng, and Wuhan. To halt the Japanese advance, Chiang Kai-shek breached the Yellow River dikes in Henan Province, resulting in over 800,000 deaths, yet the confrontational stalemate persisted.

Although many are unaware due to the overshadowing of the "Eastern Front," the Second Sino-Japanese War, with nearly 20 million casualties, is considered one of the most brutal and large-scale wars in human history.

Amidst the horrors of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Chiang Kai-shek's nationalism championed "anti-Japanese sentiment." However, the Taiwanese populace, who experienced modernization in areas such as railways, roads, ports, printing, and healthcare during Japan's colonial rule of Taiwan (1895-1945), felt closer to "pro-Japanese" sentiments. The superficial friendship between the two characters in the novel evokes the image of Taiwan at that time, wavering between anti-Japanese and pro-Japanese stances.

Taiwan continues to hold a strong reputation as a culinary destination. If you are curious about the flavors of Taiwanese cuisine in the 1930s, dive into the book right away!

Reporter Lim Yo-hee