Nobel Prize-winning book accused of mistranslation

By Kwon Ji-youn

Seen is the cover image of the Korean edition of Prof. Angus Deaton’s book “The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality.” / Korea Times file

A local publisher has been accused of having erroneously translated a book written by Nobel Prize winner and Princeton University Professor Angus Deaton.

Hankyung BP published the Korean edition of Prof. Deaton’s book, “The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality,” with changes and omissions from the English text, as well as an introduction to the work by a Korean economist positioning the book as a counterpoint to Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the Twenty-First Century.”

However, Princeton University Press said Thursday on its website that: “These changes and a new introduction were not vetted or approved by either the author or by Princeton University Press.”

In response, Hankyung BP said the modifications made were merely “editorial,” and claimed that they “condensed long and dull passages that overlapped in the preface and introduction.”

“If the preface is too long and turns readers away, the key points of the book get overlooked,” the response reads. “We made the changes to convenience readers.”

Regarding the Korean edition’s distortion of the original, it claimed no omissions had been made.

“There were no distortions made to the body of the text,” it added. “Of course, it is best if the original work is reflected 100 percent in the translation, but we hope it is understood that the edits were made to make the book an easier read.”

Hankyung BP described the reference to Piketty’s book as a “marketing strategy.”

“We have explained the controversy to Prof. Deaton through our copyright agency, and promised to make revisions,” it concluded.

Princeton University Press said Hankyung BP has agreed to remove the edition from sale, and to release a new translation, to be independently reviewed. It directed all queries to Hankyung BP.

Prof. Angus Deaton is an esteemed British economist who won this year’s Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his analysis of consumption, poverty and welfare. He is currently the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Economics Department at Princeton University.