55th Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards
The Korea Times invites translators from around the world to participate in the 55th Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards.
Since 1970, The Korea Times has been dedicated to recognizing excellence in literary translation and promoting Korean literature to a global readership through this annual competition. Many of the leading translators and scholars working in the field today began their careers as winners of the Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards, and The Korea Times looks forward to ushering in a new generation of talent in the years to come.
The annual competition awards English translations of works of contemporary Korean literature in two categories: fiction/drama and poetry.
Prize
● Grand Prize in Fiction/Drama: 7 million won
● Grand Prize in Poetry: 4 million won
● Commendation Awards: 2 million won each to entries in either fiction/drama or poetry
● Kevin O'Rourke Award: 1 million won to an entry in either fiction/drama or poetry
* The Korea Times Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards are sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and KB Financial Group.
* One of the grand prize winners in either fiction/drama or poetry will receive the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award. This year a special award will be given, in collaboration with the Embassy of Ireland in Korea, to honor the late Kevin O’Rourke and his contribution as a distinguished translator of Korean literature.
Submission Guidelines
Applicants may submit a translation of 1) a work of fiction or drama or 2) 10 poems by the same poet. Applicants should submit only one entry in either category.
● Fiction/Drama
Candidates should submit an English translation of one work of fiction (a novel, novella or short story) or a play. The first publication date of the original Korean work should be 1980 or later. Longer works will not automatically be given preference, although some credit will be given for the additional effort involved. A translation of one portion of a long novel will be considered on the condition that it presents at least a third of the complete novel and the translator plans to translate the entire work.
● Poetry
Candidates should submit English translations of 10 poems, all by the same poet. The original poems should have been first published in or after 1980.
General Rules
Translations should be sent before Aug. 31, 2024, as email attachments in PDF format to ktimes.translation@gmail.com with the subject “The Korea Times Translation Awards.”
The translators’ names, telephone numbers, mailing and email addresses should be given in the body of the email message. The translators’ names must not figure anywhere in the file of the translation, nor in the name of the file.
The Korean originals should be scanned and submitted as an attached PDF file along with the translations; if this is impossible for some reason, one hard copy must be mailed to the Culture Desk at The Korea Times by the same due date.
In both categories, the jury will be looking for accurate and persuasive translations that attempt to render in English the literary merit of significant works of contemporary literature.
Translations submitted must not have been published in any form before the deadline set for submissions. Works that have previously been published in English translation must not be translated again for the contest.
Candidates do not need the author’s permission to translate a work for submission to the awards. However, since a translation cannot be published without such permission, it is strongly advised that anyone intending to translate a full-length work, especially, should contact the author — through the publisher if necessary — before beginning, to inquire if such permission might be forthcoming, of if another translator is already working on it.
Someone who has already received an award in a category is not eligible to submit entries in that category again. Entries for The Korea Times Awards must not be submitted to any other translation contest in the same year.
Winners will be announced through The Korea Times in November.
The jury’s decision will be final, and no correspondence concerning it will be entered into.
All copyrights in submissions and prize-winning works belong to the translators, but portions of the award-winning entries may be published in The Korea Times.
Contact The Korea Times Culture Desk at 02-724-2353 or ktimes.translation@gmail.com for inquiries.
