49th Translation Awards Fiction Commendation Award winner Sean Lin Halbert

Sean Lin Halbert

Sean Lin Halbert, born and raised in Seattle, graduated from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Korean Language and a B.S. in Applied Physics. He is currently getting his master's degree at the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Seoul National University.

He became interested in the translation of Korean literature in college.

“At the time, I was already proficient in Korean and was just starting to become interested in Korean literature. Even though my major at the time was physics, I was considering turning my passion for the Korean language into something more than just a hobby. In other words, I wanted a practical application for my skills and interests. I realized that as someone who both spoke Korean and had an interest in literature, becoming a translator was a perfect avenue to pursue my passions,” Halbert said.

Halbert is a huge fan of novelist Kim Ae-ran which is one of the reasons why he selected Kim's “The Other Side” for his translation.

“It was her novels that first got me interested in Korean literature. So, it has always been a goal of mine to translate and publish one of her works,” Halbert said. “I wanted to translate this novel because of the way it sticks with you even after you finish reading it, almost like a lingering dream. I love reading literature that's powerful enough to make memories in the mind of the reader, as if the reader actually experienced everything in person. The Other Side is precisely that kind of story, so I felt like it needed to be translated.”

Halbert said Kim has a unique way of looking at the world that makes even the most mundane of scenes seem new and full of life.

“But when she writes in this distinctive style, she utilizes the neatness of the Korean language. And it's precisely this concise, neat writing style that makes the sentences she writes so poignant. I found it difficult to capture in English prose her unique style, which is so dependent on the beauty of the Korean language.”

Halbert thinks good translation is creative translation.

“People often erroneously think creativity is synonymous with blasphemy. In other words, people think a translation that takes liberties and deviates from the source text must be in some way a distortion of the author's original intentions. However, I disagree with this. I think the only way a translator can ever hope to approach the original intentions of the author is precisely through creativity and not being afraid to try something different,” he said.