Who will speak at the Korean literary translation conference in Seoul?

Anders Karlsson, a Korean studies professor at SOAS University of London, will give the first-day keynote. Brother Anthony of Taize, an emeritus professor at Sogang University, will speak on the second day.

What will happen on the second day of the LTI Korea anniversary event?

The second day is a homecoming event for graduates of LTI Korea’s Translation Academy. It will include a keynote, alumni career panels, mentoring sessions and public readings, and the event will also be livestreamed.

Korea's literature translation institute to host global translators' conference

Q: What is the 2026 World Congress for Korean Literary Translators in Seoul about?

It is a two-day international conference marking the 30th anniversary of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. The first day centers on the theme Moving Together: The Future of Global Korean Literature and Cultural Translation, with panels on translation aesthetics, artificial intelligence, translator training and publishing.

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Summary

The Literature Translation Institute of Korea will mark its 30th anniversary with a two-day international conference on Korean literary translation in Seoul on Aug. 28-29. The 2026 World Congress for Korean Literary Translators and Alumni Homecoming Day will be livestreamed for those unable to attend in person. The first day will focus on the future of global Korean literature and cultural translation, while the second will bring Translation Academy graduates together for keynote talks, panels and readings.

Key Facts

The event will be held at the Grand Mercure Ambassador Seoul Hotel & Residences Imperial Palace in Seoul.
Anders Karlsson, a Korean studies professor at SOAS University of London, will deliver the keynote on the first day.
The first-day program includes four panel sessions on translation aesthetics, artificial intelligence, translator training and the publishing industry.
The second day will feature a keynote by Brother Anthony of Taize, who has translated more than 40 volumes of Korean poetry and fiction.
Registration for the conference is free.

By Jhoo Dong-chan

Published Aug 19, 2026 1:53 pm KST

The Literature Translation Institute of Korea will mark its 30th anniversary with a two-day international conference on Korean literary translation, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Wednesday.

The 2026 World Congress for Korean Literary Translators and Alumni Homecoming Day will take place Aug. 28-29 at the Grand Mercure Ambassador Seoul Hotel & Residences Imperial Palace in Seoul. The event will also be livestreamed for participants unable to attend in person.

The first day's World Congress will center on the theme "Moving Together: The Future of Global Korean Literature and Cultural Translation."

Anders Karlsson, a Korean studies professor at SOAS University of London who translates Korean literature into Swedish, will deliver a keynote address, followed by four panel sessions covering literary translation aesthetics, artificial intelligence's impact on the field, translator training and the publishing industry.

The rise in global interest in Korean literature — spurred in part by novelist Han Kang's 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature — has heightened attention on translators who bring Korean-language works to international readers.

The second day, a homecoming event for graduates of LTI Korea's Translation Academy, will feature a keynote by Brother Anthony of Taize, an emeritus professor at Sogang University who has translated more than 40 volumes of Korean poetry and fiction, along with alumni career panels, mentoring sessions and public readings. Registration is free.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.

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