By Kang Hyun-kyung
The past couple of years have been eventful for late-bloomer Han Kang, the author of the award-winning book "The Vegetarian."
Han Kang, 47, has become a star writer after she and Deborah Smith, the translator of "The Vegetarian," were honored with the 2016 International Man Booker Prize.
The book instantly became an international sensation and shot up on the bestseller list.
At home, the once obscure writer among general readers was lifted to a heroine who helped her country end several decades of drought in international literary recognition.
Some media outlets depicted Han Kang's accomplishment as something akin to winning the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Rosy prospects for the success of Korean literature overseas had peaked for a while.
Such a fuss, however, ran short.
"The Vegetarian" was back in the spotlight in June last year. This time the reason is something scathing for the writer and the British translator as well.
Some experts raised questions about the accuracy of the English translation of the book by pointing out "errors, embellishments and omissions." They said Smith added parts that didn't exist in the work in Korean or sometimes removed parts that were in the original text.
Some even belittled Han Kang's novel and said it doesn't deserve international recognition. They claimed the real winner is Smith as the British translator "recreated the story" in a magnificent manner.
In hindsight, the controversy surrounding the English translation of "The Vegetarian" was a defining moment in literary translation in that the public had few opportunities to know how translating literary works into a foreign language is different from making a technical translation.
Kim Seong-kon, president of Literature Translation Institute of Korea, accused those critics of having created allegedly unnecessary criticism. He said such critical views about "The Vegetarian" in English is nothing but a reflection of their ignorance of how literary translators work.
"Translation is re-creation. There's no question about that," Kim told The Korea Times during a recent interview. "In translation, the target language is more important than the Korean text. This is because faithful translation to the Korean text could make it more difficult for Western readers to follow the story because there is such a thing as Koreanness that only Koreans are able to catch. If the translated work doesn't make sense, no one gains."
Kim noted literary translators not only translate the Korean text into English. They also bridge the cultural gap existing between Korean and Western readers, he said. This is how literary translators are different from other technical translators who are faithful to the Korean text and perform word-for-word translations, according to him.
Kim said neither Han Kang nor translator Deborah Smith deserves criticism. He called the critics "amateurs" having no accurate understanding of literary translation.
He claimed translators are allowed to edit the original content if this it is necessary to help the target language readers understand it. "Of course, errors are not acceptable," he said. "But I do believe translators have a certain level of discretion to change the phrases, if needed to help readers from different cultures understand what's going on behind what is not said in the original text."
Lyman McLallen, an American reader who has lived in Korea for almost two decades, concurred with Kim regarding the role of literary translators.
"For a translation to be a significant work in the translated language, the translator must cast the work as more than just a translation. She must transform it into an entirely new creation, but one that stands faithful to the original that inspired it," he said. "In her re-creation of ‘The Vegetarian' into English, Smith captures the Koreanness of the characters, situation and place of Han Kang's novella eloquently, so much so that the English prose is an echo of the Korean."
McLallen said "The Vegetarian" is an outstanding novella and translator Smith also did a magnificent job.
"Though this is a Korean story in its particulars, it transcends its Korean characters and examines dead-ends that humans everywhere find themselves trapped in," he said.
Kim said Han Kang's "The Vegetarian" is a timely book as it encourages readers all around the world to think about greed and self-righteousness that are gripping the world today.
He said "The Vegetarian" and "The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly" are two "must-read" books for foreign readers who are looking for outstanding Korean literary pieces.
In addition, Kim also recommended Jeong You-jeon's "Seven Years of Darkness," Pyun Hye-young's "Ashes and Red," Lee Seung-u's "The Private Life of Plants," and Cheon Myeong-kwan's "My Uncle Bruce Lee" and "Whale."
Kim said Hwang Sok-yong's "The Guest" and Yi Mun-yol's "Our Twisted Hero" are also two great works that have captivated Western readers for many years.
 |
| Kim Seong-kon, president of Literature Translation Institute of Korea / Korea Times |
Han Kang, 47, has become a star writer after she and Deborah Smith, the translator of "The Vegetarian," were honored with the 2016 International Man Booker Prize.
The book instantly became an international sensation and shot up on the bestseller list.
At home, the once obscure writer among general readers was lifted to a heroine who helped her country end several decades of drought in international literary recognition.
Some media outlets depicted Han Kang's accomplishment as something akin to winning the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Rosy prospects for the success of Korean literature overseas had peaked for a while.
Such a fuss, however, ran short.
"The Vegetarian" was back in the spotlight in June last year. This time the reason is something scathing for the writer and the British translator as well.
Some experts raised questions about the accuracy of the English translation of the book by pointing out "errors, embellishments and omissions." They said Smith added parts that didn't exist in the work in Korean or sometimes removed parts that were in the original text.
Some even belittled Han Kang's novel and said it doesn't deserve international recognition. They claimed the real winner is Smith as the British translator "recreated the story" in a magnificent manner.
In hindsight, the controversy surrounding the English translation of "The Vegetarian" was a defining moment in literary translation in that the public had few opportunities to know how translating literary works into a foreign language is different from making a technical translation.
Kim Seong-kon, president of Literature Translation Institute of Korea, accused those critics of having created allegedly unnecessary criticism. He said such critical views about "The Vegetarian" in English is nothing but a reflection of their ignorance of how literary translators work.
"Translation is re-creation. There's no question about that," Kim told The Korea Times during a recent interview. "In translation, the target language is more important than the Korean text. This is because faithful translation to the Korean text could make it more difficult for Western readers to follow the story because there is such a thing as Koreanness that only Koreans are able to catch. If the translated work doesn't make sense, no one gains."
Kim noted literary translators not only translate the Korean text into English. They also bridge the cultural gap existing between Korean and Western readers, he said. This is how literary translators are different from other technical translators who are faithful to the Korean text and perform word-for-word translations, according to him.
Kim said neither Han Kang nor translator Deborah Smith deserves criticism. He called the critics "amateurs" having no accurate understanding of literary translation.
He claimed translators are allowed to edit the original content if this it is necessary to help the target language readers understand it. "Of course, errors are not acceptable," he said. "But I do believe translators have a certain level of discretion to change the phrases, if needed to help readers from different cultures understand what's going on behind what is not said in the original text."
Lyman McLallen, an American reader who has lived in Korea for almost two decades, concurred with Kim regarding the role of literary translators.
"For a translation to be a significant work in the translated language, the translator must cast the work as more than just a translation. She must transform it into an entirely new creation, but one that stands faithful to the original that inspired it," he said. "In her re-creation of ‘The Vegetarian' into English, Smith captures the Koreanness of the characters, situation and place of Han Kang's novella eloquently, so much so that the English prose is an echo of the Korean."
McLallen said "The Vegetarian" is an outstanding novella and translator Smith also did a magnificent job.
"Though this is a Korean story in its particulars, it transcends its Korean characters and examines dead-ends that humans everywhere find themselves trapped in," he said.
Kim said Han Kang's "The Vegetarian" is a timely book as it encourages readers all around the world to think about greed and self-righteousness that are gripping the world today.
He said "The Vegetarian" and "The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly" are two "must-read" books for foreign readers who are looking for outstanding Korean literary pieces.
In addition, Kim also recommended Jeong You-jeon's "Seven Years of Darkness," Pyun Hye-young's "Ashes and Red," Lee Seung-u's "The Private Life of Plants," and Cheon Myeong-kwan's "My Uncle Bruce Lee" and "Whale."
Kim said Hwang Sok-yong's "The Guest" and Yi Mun-yol's "Our Twisted Hero" are also two great works that have captivated Western readers for many years.
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