Translator's view of Nobel prize winners

By Sohn Tae-soo

In a country where people are increasingly craving the Nobel Prize in Literature more than ever, especially in the wake of the recent success overseas of “The Vegetarian” by Han Kang ― the winner of the 2016 Man Booker International Prize ― the hitherto-neglected, if not ignored, translators have emerged as the possible saviors that would bring South Korea the top literary honor.

The recent attention brought to translation, nevertheless, should not be remembered as another public fuss made, for instance, when South Korean athletes won gold medals in the Olympics or hallyu (the Korean Wave) entertainers rose to international stardom. Literature should not be something that can be cherished only after bringing honor in the form of a prize but something that teaches us how to live and helps make society a little better by letting people think differently rather than giving solutions.

Nevertheless, no one will deny that the Nobel Prize in Literature, when awarded, will undoubtedly serve as an occasion for stoking the pride of Koreans and promoting the global recognition of Korean literature. At this juncture, we have to think about the conditions under which South Korea could receive the prize and whether or not it is the sole destination for the globalization of Korean literature.

First, many mention the necessity of cultivating talented translators. Critics argue that the dearth of gifted translators ― along with the difficulty of rendering Korean literature into foreign languages ― makes it hard for the nation to receive due recognition. Deborah Smith, the translator of “The Vegetarian,” demonstrated how Korean literature can be read abroad. She focused on what to translate prior to translation. Next, she translated literary pieces as if she produced works of English literature that cater to the tastes of foreign readers. She had established expertise in the literary scenes from and into which she was translating, while maintaining relations with authors, publishers, agents, booksellers, and other translators, as well as participating in literary events. This shows that the job of translators need not necessarily be an isolating one.

Second, people also mention the lack of gifted authors, but that can hardly be checked or weighed because literature, like other pure arts, does not allow a single criterion for judgment and even critics differ in opinions. Another topic worthy of note is whether Koreanness would appeal to foreign readers. Some of the most-sought-after senior authors, whose works were translated in foreign languages, resorted to the ideas dealing with unique Korean experiences. But it is time to think about literature from the perspective of diversity and comparative literature in the age of globalization. Unless foreign readers are particularly interested in the cultural-anthropological issues in foreign countries, it is not likely they will find interest in unique a Koreanness in whatever language. On a positive side, a generation shift among authors in the Korean literary community might shed a new light. Young authors like Han Kang and Suah Bae, for example, are portraying deep, fundamental human sentiments with a feminist perspective, which could possibly be shared with foreign readers.

Third, no less important than the talents of authors or translators is a strong footing on Korean soil in terms of encouraging creativity. Efforts must be made to create an environment of reading and cherishing Korean literature among the public. It is unreasonable to expect that those living overseas would favorably appreciate Korean literature when Koreans are just indifferent to it. Literary geniuses are hard to be birth in an atmosphere where people just value the culture of so-called “specs (specifications)” that emphasize quantitatively measurable achievements based on stereotypes. The government and related organizations should map out a long-term policy rather than organizing temporary exhibitions or events for the sake of display administration.

Next, the role of scholars and journalists cannot be overemphasized too much. Scholars are urged to produce academic accomplishments in the form of lectures, international symposiums, research papers or books in foreign languages in order to propagate the literary achievements of Korean writers. Journalists, especially those in the English language newspapers, should gather related news and opinions and report objective and unbiased views in order to help foreigners better understand Korean literature.

Last but not least, it is necessary to understand what is in the minds of those who will screen the top candidate literary works at the Nobel committee. How would they understand the delicate and difficult-to-grasp linguistic and cultural sensibilities of Korean literature only through translation where a hard-to-bridge gap exists between the source text and the target text? Even though Korean literary works are translated en masse in foreign languages and attract readers, it is not likely that the Norwegian committee members would take a look at them if the works are not translated in the languages they can read, and if the works deal with culture-specific ideas with which they are not familiar.

As every piece of Korean literature cannot appeal to every Korean, so it goes that every translated work of Korean literature cannot impress every foreign reader. In order to further promote the awareness of Korean literature overseas, translation itself should no longer remain in its strict source text-oriented format for domestic use but pursue the target reader-oriented strategies. So they should select and focus on what’s readable.

There is no single important strategy, but everything must be closely intertwined. No one can predict when Korea will receive the Nobel literature prize. The day, however, will come only when the nation is equipped with a mature high-brow literary competence. The Nobel Prize should neither be a means of acquiring another national “specs” nor a standard of judging the genuine value of literature. Nevertheless, efforts for receiving the prize should not be discontinued.

The writer, senior researcher at the Humanities

Research Institute at Sungkyunkwan

University, is currently translating two

Joseon dynasty novels: A Tale of Sukhyang

(Sukhyang-jeon) and A Tale of Sugyeong

(Sugyeongnangja-jeon) under a Korean classics

translation project sponsored by the

Academy of Korean Studies.