LTI Korea honors excellence in literary translation

The Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea) announced the winners of its annual translation awards, Wednesday, recognizing the outstanding talents of professional and aspiring translators who have contributed to bringing Korean literature to readers around the world.

The grand prizes of this year’s LTI Korea Translation Award went to Hye-gyeong Kim-De Crescenzo and Jean-Claude De Crescenzo for their French rendering of Lee Seung-u’s “Voyage a Cantant;” Oh Young-a for her Japanese translation of Cho Hae-jin’s “Simple Sincerity;” and Lia Iovenitti’s Italian translation of Kim Hye-jin’s “Concerning My Daughter.” Each awardee received 20 million won ($15,234) in prize money.

Marie-Jeanne and Thierry Auzas, co-CEOs of Paris-based publisher Editions Imago, were honored with the outstanding service award. Founded in 1977, the publishing house has been releasing the translated Korean literature series called “Scenes Coreennes” since 2004, bringing to life 33 volumes of the country’s traditional folk tales, legends, plays and “pansori” (traditional musical storytelling) scripts in French.

The annual prize also recognized nine aspiring translators in literature and film/webtoon categories, respectively.

Among the winners, for Oh, who delved into the world of translation in 2007, the award was more than a recognition of her literary achievement; it was a reaffirmation of her roots and layered identities.

During the press conference, she introduced herself as a third-generation Korean living in Japan, whose grandparents relocated to the country in the early 1920s.

“I remember them struggling with Japanese, unable to read or write it. And I, as a Korean-Japanese (person), couldn’t speak or write Korean properly (while growing up). The fact that I am standing here in 2023, a century after my grandparents' move to Japan, would have made them very proud and pleased," she said.

The four top prize winners echoed that the demand for a wider variety of translated Korean literary works is growing overseas.

“Previously, in the case of France, much of the translated Korean literature was weighty – in that the pieces required the readers to have a background knowledge about the country’s politics, economy and history to understand its content,” the two De Crescenzos noted.

“But from the mid-2010s onwards, we are seeing more and more works authored by young writers. A greater number of genre fiction, such as science fiction, and even webtoons are also being published.”

To cater to those rising needs, Iovenitti stressed the role of LTI Korea and other systemic support systems in fostering a greater cohort of trained translators.

“In Italy, more publishers are interested in printing Korean books, but the reality is that there aren’t enough translators. It’s important for the organizations to focus on training young translators, networking with overseas publishing houses and organizing global book tours.”