[51st Korea Times Translation Awards] Judges' Report

From top left clockwise, Brother Anthony, Min Eun-kyung, and Jung Ha-yun, the judges of The Korea Times Translation Awards

By Brother Anthony, Jung Ha-yun and Min Eun-kyung

What a year this has been! The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has ushered in a brave new world we have never experienced before, prompting institutions and individuals alike to rethink their opus operandi. Indeed, this crisis has demanded that we question in a fundamental way our mode of existence ―the ways in which we organize space and time and communicate with others. So much has changed and is continuing to change. What about literature?

Last year was a very special year, the 50th anniversary of The Korea Times' Modern Korean Literature Translation Award. In 2020, we move into the second half-century of this award. This new half-century will doubtless bring a new set of historical challenges, COVID-19 in all likelihood being not the last of these. The judges remain hopeful, however, that Korean literature will continue to develop and prosper in these brave new times, fostering in turn new generations of translators.

In general, the judges find that the entries in both the fiction and poetry categories are growing stronger year by year. This year, the poetry entries were particularly strong. Whereas the judges were unable to single out a Grand Prize winner among the numerous poetry entries for last year's award, this year the judges shared the pleasure of debating the merits of the translated poems of Moon Bo-young and Choi Jeong-rye for the Grand Prize.

51st Korea Times Translation AwardsPoetry Grand Prize winner Mattho Mandersloot

2020-11-11 18:52 | People & Events

51st Korea Times Translation AwardsPoetry Grand Prize: 1mg of Anaesthetic

2020-11-11 18:55 | People & Events

51st Korea Times Translation AwardsFiction Grand Prize winner Hannah Hertzog

2020-11-11 19:00 | People & Events

51st Korea Times Translation AwardsFiction Grand Prize: Jab

2020-11-11 19:07 | People & Events

51st Korea Times Translation AwardsPoetry Commendation Award winner Hedgie Choi

2020-11-11 19:10 | People & Events

51st Korea Times Translation AwardsPoetry Commendation Award: Two Colors in a Picture Book

2020-11-11 19:16 | People & Events

51st Korea Times Translation AwardsFiction Commendation Award winner Rina Kim

2020-11-11 19:19 | People & Events

51st Korea Times Translation AwardsFiction Commendation Award: The Aunt

2020-11-11 19:22 | People & Events

Both entries demonstrate fidelity and sensitivity to the Korean originals. After some discussion, the judges unanimously opted for the Choi Jeong-rye translations, which convincingly capture the wry, self-distancing and ironical voice of the poetic speaker. Although these translations tend sometimes to smooth over the quirky language of the Korean originals, opting instead for a balladic simplicity worthy of Wordsworth's early lyrics, they demonstrate strong and effective poetic control. The poems indeed read very much like originals, achieving the difficult and often overlooked task of translating poetry into poetry.

In comparison, the well-executed translations of Moon Bo-young, the judges believe, have a more literal and sometimes awkward quality. We are pleased to award these translators with the Grand Prize and Commendation Prize for poetry, respectively.

The awards for fiction also go to two translations that are quite different in approach. The Grand Prize goes to the translation of Kim Un-su's "Jab," a short story featuring a 17-year-old boy who takes up boxing after he is humiliated and publicly beaten up at school by a teacher. The Korean original is a fast-flowing, relatively uncomplicated story about school violence, masculinity, anger, ambition and growing up. The translation renders convincingly the informal tone of the teenage narrator's first-person voice, full of rebellious feeling and passion but not yet fully capable of self-understanding.

As judges we sometimes come across translations that overemphasize the informal tone, resulting in stories so laden with American slang that the language of the translation becomes a barrier. This translator, however, struck just the right tone, showing particular skill in translating dialogue. In this respect, the judges found "Jab" is a more convincing translation than "The Aunt," which is a faithful and accurate translation but whose dialogue sounds at times stilted, more like written than spoken language.

This year, the fiction entries were generally extremely competent and enjoyable to read. The judges have awarded the Commendation Prize in Fiction to the translation of Kwon Yeo-sun's "The Aunt," but we would like to emphasize that there were many other strong contenders.

One example we would like to single out is the translation of Hwang Jung-eun's "Northbound." As readers of Hwang know, she has a very distinct style. She chooses not to mark dialogue and eschews quotation marks, in effect guiding the readers to focus on the interiority of the narrative. While interiority lies at the center of storytelling in most modern fiction, the translator of Hwang evidently decided that Hwang's distinct style is untranslatable and inserted quotation marks around all dialogue. The resulting story, though extremely readable, does not "feel" like a Hwang Jung-eun story. The translator's choice is understandable and practical, and yet an important aesthetic element was lost in translation.

The judges were asked this year to select one of the Grand Prize winners for special recognition by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. We decided that the Grand Prize winner in poetry, whose entries evince a high literary quality, should receive this special recognition.

As we congratulate the Grand Prize and Commendation Prize winners, we wish to remember and recognize the many other translators who participated in this year's competition. We would like to thank everybody for sharing their work, especially in these difficult times. In a year's time, we hope, the current crisis will have subsided and an equally rich crop of translations will be awaiting us. We look forward to that future.