The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    IU says she was excited to share screen with Park Seo-joon in 'Dream'

  • 3

    BLACKPINK, TXT, Stray Kids: K-pop stars headline international music festivals

  • 5

    INTERVIEWForeign-born entertainers seek to revolutionize local industry

  • 7

    College students turn to 1,000 won breakfast to beat inflation

  • 9

    Korean aesthetics, spirit live on at Gyeongbok Palace

  • 11

    Chun Woo-won apologizes to Gwangju victims, calls grandfather 'criminal'

  • 13

    Koreans warned against making inappropriate videos in Thailand

  • 15

    BTS Jimin breaks record for K-pop soloist with 'Face'

  • 17

    South Korea nominates new ambassador to US

  • 19

    SM Entertainment founder looks to future as company appoints new management

  • 2

    Children, pregnant women executed, tortured in North Korea: report

  • 4

    Korea to scrap customs form for travelers without dutiable goods

  • 6

    NewJeans, Apple join hands to bring immersive audio experience

  • 8

    Rare Joseon-era map returns home from Japan

  • 10

    Seventeen to drop new EP next month

  • 12

    Celebrity chef Paik Jong-won takes his business skills to next level with 'The Genius Paik'

  • 14

    Carmakers unveil latest models at Seoul Mobility Show

  • 16

    'Me': BLACKPINK's Jisoo off to smooth start as solo artist

  • 18

    Japanese top visitors to Korea in 2023 as tourism rebounds

  • 20

    Gwangju's popular Alleyway restaurant resurrects

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
Sat, April 1, 2023 | 20:17
Books
Translation award winners discuss challenges
Posted : 2015-11-06 16:11
Updated : 2015-11-06 17:56
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
Winners of the 13th Korean Literature Translation Awards pose for a photo at a restaurant in Seoul before the awards ceremony Wednesday. From left are Seong Cho-lim, Kwon Eun-hee, Andrea de Benedittis, Pascale Roux, daughter of Genevieve Roux-Faucard, and Lee Tae-yeon. / Courtesy of LTIK
Winners of the 13th Korean Literature Translation Awards pose for a photo at a restaurant in Seoul before the awards ceremony Wednesday. From left are Seong Cho-lim, Kwon Eun-hee, Andrea de Benedittis, Pascale Roux, daughter of Genevieve Roux-Faucard, and Lee Tae-yeon. / Courtesy of LTIK


Winners of the 13th Korean Literature Translation Awards pose for a photo at a restaurant in Seoul before the awards ceremony Wednesday. From left are Seong Cho-lim, Kwon Eun-hee, Andrea de Benedittis, Pascale Roux, daughter of Genevieve Roux-Faucard, and Lee Tae-yeon. / Courtesy of LTIK
Andrea de Benedittis, one of the winners of the 13th Korean Literature Translation Award, speaks to the press.
Winners of the 13th Korean Literature Translation Awards pose for a photo at a restaurant in Seoul before the awards ceremony Wednesday. From left are Seong Cho-lim, Kwon Eun-hee, Andrea de Benedittis, Pascale Roux, daughter of Genevieve Roux-Faucard, and Lee Tae-yeon. / Courtesy of LTIK
Zhang Li Li, one of the winners of the 14th Korean Literature Translation Awards for New Career Translators, speaks to the press.
By Yun Suh-young

The winners of the 13th Korean Literature Translation Awards and the 14th Korean Literature Translation Awards for New Career Translators gathered Wednesday before the award ceremony and spoke of the difficulties of translating Korean literature into other languages.

"It's always difficult to translate dialects. It sounds awkward when we translate it, so sometimes we have to get rid of it," said Andrea de Benedittis, one of the winners of the 13th Korean Literature Translation Awards. He translated author Kim Young-ha's "I Have the Right to Destroy Myself" into Italian, "Ho Il Diritto di Distruggermi" and is a seasoned translator of 10 years who has translated other noted Korean novels into Italian.

"Also, in order to properly deliver the cultural context, we need to explain the historical background, but local publishers won't allow us to add footnotes. Properly delivering the tone of the writing itself is another difficulty," he said.

Four teams of professional translators were awarded Wednesday with the Korean Literature Translation Awards. Other award winners include Lee Tae-yeon and Genevieve Roux-Faucard who translated author Han Kang's "Breath Fighting" into French, "Pars, le Vent se Leve"; Kwon Eun-hee and Seong Cho-lim who translated Bae Suah's "Sunday Sukiyaki Restaurant" into Spanish, "El Restaurante de Sukiyaki"; and Vu Kim Ngan who translated author Jeong Yu-jeong's "Seven Years of Darkness" into Vietnamese, "7 Nam Bong Toi."

The awarded works were books which have already been translated and published by local publishing companies overseas. Of the 76 works submitted in 19 languages, a total of 14 made it to the finals and four were selected as winners. Judging criteria included how faithful the translation was to the original work, how well-refined the works were in terms of literary perfection, and how smooth the style of writing was. Judges consisted of foreign publishers and professors of Korean literature.

"It was difficult to translate the abundant usages of onomatopoeic and mimetic words. Because our publishers don't allow footnotes, I had to explain terms such as hanbok. The French don't like repetitive expressions so I tried to get rid of those," said Lee one of the winners.

This year was also the 14th year of the Korean Literature Translation Award for New Career Translators given to novice translators, an event which began in 2001. Among the 192 works from seven countries, a total of eight award winners were announced. They were Julianne Kelso and Jennifer Cho An for English, Na Eun-joo for French, Cho Young-eun for German, Daniel Rodríguez Cornejo for Spanish, Anna Dudinova for Russian, Azumi Junko for Japanese and Zhang Lili for Chinese.

"It was difficult to read between the lines. I wasn't quite sure what the author really wanted to deliver to the readers," said Zhang Li Li, who translated Young Young's "Summer" into Chinese. She works as a simultaneous interpreter and translator in Korea and was the only person who lives in Korea among the rookie award winners.

"What was difficult about translating Korean into English was to transfer informal and formal tone of speeches that exist due to social hierarchy. Also, certain titles such as unni which can be used in different contexts or translating chonsoo, the degree of relationship in the family tree, were difficult," said Julianne Kelso from Canada, a graduate of East Asian Studies at Toronto University. She translated Eun Hee-kyung's "Venus Girl."

Azumi Zunko from Japan, who works as a high school administrator, said, "People think Korean and Japanese are similar so it would be easy to translate, but there are of course difficulties. Japanese novels have a clear distinction in speeches between men and women while Koreans' don't. Also, it was difficult to distinguish the hapnida and haeyo styles of speech."

The translation awards are awarded by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea and are the only government-sponsored literature awards in Korea.

Emailysy@ktimes.com Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
Top 10 Stories
1Chun Woo-won apologizes to Gwangju victims, calls grandfather 'criminal' Chun Woo-won apologizes to Gwangju victims, calls grandfather 'criminal'
2Koreans warned against making inappropriate videos in Thailand Koreans warned against making inappropriate videos in Thailand
3Gwangju's popular Alleyway restaurant resurrectsGwangju's popular Alleyway restaurant resurrects
4Ambassador offers taste of Ghana to Korea Ambassador offers taste of Ghana to Korea
5[INTERVIEW] North Korean defectors bear brunt of remittance scams INTERVIEWNorth Korean defectors bear brunt of remittance scams
6Korea ready to greet BIE inspection team Korea ready to greet BIE inspection team
7Gimpo airport to launch care service for dogs Gimpo airport to launch care service for dogs
8Yoon gov't disputes Japanese media's claims about summit Yoon gov't disputes Japanese media's claims about summit
9Regulators urge financial groups to minimize interest rate hikes Regulators urge financial groups to minimize interest rate hikes
10Mirae Asset, SK Telecom team up for security token businessMirae Asset, SK Telecom team up for security token business
Top 5 Entertainment News
1IU says she was excited to share screen with Park Seo-joon in 'Dream' IU says she was excited to share screen with Park Seo-joon in 'Dream'
2BLACKPINK, TXT, Stray Kids: K-pop stars headline international music festivalsBLACKPINK, TXT, Stray Kids: K-pop stars headline international music festivals
3[INTERVIEW] Foreign-born entertainers seek to revolutionize local industry INTERVIEWForeign-born entertainers seek to revolutionize local industry
4NewJeans, Apple join hands to bring immersive audio experience NewJeans, Apple join hands to bring immersive audio experience
5Celebrity chef Paik Jong-won takes his business skills to next level with 'The Genius Paik' Celebrity chef Paik Jong-won takes his business skills to next level with 'The Genius Paik'
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group