Korea Times Translation Awards bring Korean literature closer to world readers

The Korea Times honored five winning translators during the 57th Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards ceremony held in Seoul Tuesday, celebrating their roles in connecting Korean writers with global readers as artificial intelligence raises new questions about the future of literary translation.

Held at the Korea Press Center in Seoul, the ceremony brought together translators, cultural officials and publishing representatives, with speakers emphasizing the human sensitivity needed to carry a work’s emotional depth across languages. The awards are organized by The Korea Times and supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and KB Financial Group.

The Korea Times President-Publisher Oh Young-jin said the growing international reach of Korean culture coincides with a technological upheaval that demands reflection on what makes literature meaningful.

“In this age when machines write, how can we preserve the emotional resonance, imagination and cultural depth that only humans can convey?” Oh said.

“How we carry forward the essential beauty of literature while embracing technological progress is an urgent challenge humanity must address,” he said, pledging that the newspaper would work alongside the winners to seek answers, drawing on the competition’s 57 years of experience.

The Grand Prize in fiction and the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award, the highest honor of the event, went to Breanna Hundley for translating Cho Ye-eun’s “How to Get Your Deposit Back.”

“I had so much fun translating this story and it really means a lot to me that the time and effort I put into this translation is being recognized this way,” Hundley, who was not able to attend the ceremony in person, said via a video message.

Jude Vandervort won the fiction Commendation Award for translating “Bead by Bead” by Jung Ji-a. Park Se-yeon and Noh Hye-yeon received poetry Commendation Awards for their translations of works by An Hee-yeon and Lee Su-myeong, respectively. No poetry Grand Prize was awarded.

Ku Bon-seung received the Kevin O’Rourke Prize for translating Danyao’s “Giraffe Is the Name of the World.”

The special prize commemorates the Irish priest and translator who arrived in Korea in 1964 as a missionary and translated more than 2,000 Korean poems and served as a judge for the competition from 1975 to 1980 and from 1988 to 1989.

Culture minister Chae Hwi-young stressed the need to turn heightened international interest in Korean literature into a lasting reading culture.

“At the center of that effort are translators, who convey not only a work’s language but also its emotions and the spirit of its time,” Lee Yong-shin, the director general for arts policy, read on Chae's behalf.

The minister expressed hope that the awards would mark a new beginning for the winners and that their efforts would open broader horizons for Korean literature.

Lee Young-ju, head of KB Kookmin Bank’s custody business division, likewise emphasized translation’s importance in sustaining Korean culture’s global reach.

“However outstanding a work may be, it can truly communicate with readers around the world only when translation conveys the emotional resonance and depth of the original,” Lee said.

Judge Krys Lee praised the entrants’ willingness to explore diverse literary territory in remarks read by the ceremony’s host.

“The translators for this year’s award made adventurous choices in the selection of texts,” she said, highlighting a range extending from historical and mythic fiction to experimental poetry.

Irish Ambassador to Korea Sean Hoy spoke of literature’s enduring place in national culture.

“It’s our literature that lasts. It’s like a stone building — it’s there forever,” Hoy said, describing translation as a way to bring Korean literature to readers across the world.

Accepting her poetry award in person, Park thanked her teachers at Ewha Womans University’s Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation, poet An and her family.

“I first encountered the poet’s work as a reader, and I believe its beauty and power are what brought me here today,” she said. “I will continue working to share the beauty and depth of Korean literature, and the pleasure it brings, with readers around the world.”

Ku thanked writer Danyao for trusting him, while Noh said receiving recognition for a work she loved was especially meaningful.

“I will do my best to become a translator worthy of this honor,” Ku said.