[단독]Translators who introduced Han River to the world “Korea needs to increase support for literary translation”

“Should they have translated the German work into Korean?”

In 1998, translator Lee Ki-hyang had this thought after struggling to translate Kim Joo-young’s novel ‘Fishing Doesn’t Break the Reeds’. He received a master’s and doctoral degree in medieval and modern German literature from the University of Wurzburg, Germany, but translating Korean literature was not usually difficult. It’s not over just because the translation is finished. The ordeal of persuading local publishers to ‘publish Korean novels’ had just begun. “When I picked up the first translated book that I worked so hard to produce, all the pain was washed away. “I translated about 30 volumes of Korean literature, one volume at a time.”

German translator Lee Ki-hyang (left) and Spanish translator Seon-mi Yoon. Provided by myself

Han Kang’s winning of the Nobel Prize in Literature is said to be largely due to the contribution of literary translators who endured many years of hardship. Lee Gi-hyang (German), a translator with 27 years of experience (German), and Seon-mi Yoon (Spanish), a translator with 26 years of experience, who were interviewed by the Dong-A Ilbo on the 12th, said, “It is an honor that would not have been possible without the translation,” and added, “In order for Korean literature to have a chance to be recognized, support for translation must be increased. ” they emphasized together. ● Translators are the main players who introduced Korean literature to the world.

The two are veteran translators who distributed Han Kang’s masterpiece ‘The Vegetarian’, which won the Man Booker Prize in 2016, to Argentina (2012), Germany (2016), and Spain (2019).

Translator Yoon said he was confident that Spanish-speaking readers would like Han Kang’s work. As expected, when Vegetarian was published in Argentina in 2012 and Han Kang visited the Buenos Aires Book Fair the following year, the lecture hall was full and more than 1,000 copies were sold before and after the event. He said, “Overseas female readers were enthusiastic because it was a work that clearly exposed the invisible and intangible violence unique to patriarchy.”

Some of novelist Han Kang’s works translated into Spanish by translator Seonmi Yoon. From the left, ‘Vegetarian’, ‘Greek Time’, and ‘White’.

After the Nobel Prize in Literature was announced on the 10th, the Spanish-speaking media rushed to translator Yoon. It is said that this translator also received a lot of calls from German media. This is because there are few people overseas who can explain well not only the world of Han Kang’s works but also Korean literature in general. In this way, translators were even taking on the role of experts in promoting the beauty of Korean literature to the world.

Translator Yoon emphasized, “Literary translation is a field of creativity that artificial intelligence (AI) can never replace.” He moved to Argentina at the age of five, received a doctorate in medieval Spanish literature from the Spanish Compluten Generation, and returned to Korea in 1997. In 1999, he began his career as a translator by translating Kim Chun-soo’s novel ‘Lifted, Dostoevsky.’

When asked about the poor translation environment in the early days, he gave an unexpected answer: “It hasn’t changed much from then to now.” It was said that only two organizations, the Daesan Cultural Foundation, a public interest foundation of Kyobo Life Insurance, and the Literature Translation Institute of Korea under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, support the translation of Korean literature.

He, who is training the next generation of translators at the Literature Translation Institute of Korea’s Translation Academy, was concerned that government support was not in place and that the space for new translators was narrowing. Recently, it was changed to allow only overseas publishers, not translators, to apply, so the opportunity for ambitious new translators to persuade small publishers with subsidies has disappeared. As publishers take the lead, the phenomenon of support being given mainly to works that will sell well is also highlighted.

● Translators who don’t give up need to be given wings

Why do you not give up literary translation despite all the hardships? This translator settled in Munich, Germany and runs the children’s literature publishing company ‘Fairytale Forest’ (Maerchenwald Verlag). Baek Hee-na’s self-published children’s book ‘Moon Sherbet’ has been selected as a finalist in the picture book category for this year’s German Youth Literature Award and is awaiting the results. In March of this year, she won the Leipzig Book Fair Translation Award (Bo-ra Jeong’s short story collection ‘The Cursed Rabbit’). He said, “For me, translation was a really useful time to broaden my horizons by looking deeply into aspects of Korean history that I had neglected.”

Some of the works of novelist Han Kang translated into German by translator Lee Ki-hyang. From the left, ‘White’, ‘The Boy Is Coming’, and ‘Greek Time’

Recently, there are many foreign ‘K-pop kids’ at the Literature Translation Institute of Korea’s translation academy. This is an example of the curiosity I had about Korea as a child turning into a serious interest. In the Spanish-speaking world, about 20 people, both domestic and foreign, apply every year, and the final 4 or 5 people are selected. Translator Yoon said, “It is unfortunate that only one student succeeds in debuting before graduation due to the difficult situation in the publishing industry. “However, there are many new translators who do not give up and continue to take on challenges,” he said, emphasizing that we need to give them wings.

Han Kang’s full-length novel ‘Greek Time’, translated into German by this translator with support from the Daesan Cultural Foundation, was published locally this year. Han Kang’s full-length novel ‘Not Farewell’ was also selected as a support work last year and is in the works. Translator Yoon has been with the Daesan Cultural Foundation since his translation debut in 1999. Currently, Han Kang’s full-length novel ‘Greek Time’ is being translated into Spanish with support from the foundation. In this way, the Daesan Cultural Foundation supported the translation and publication of nine works by Han Kang. The Literature Translation Institute of Korea supported 76 translations and publications.

Translator Yoon said, “If it were not for the support of the Daesan Cultural Foundation and the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, many translators’ dreams would have been frustrated due to livelihood issues.” This translator said, “It is a great help in securing time to spend on data research and proofreading work, which are essential for high-quality translation.” He added, “I was able to grow as a translator thanks to the unconditional support of the Daesan Cultural Foundation and the Literature Translation Institute of Korea.” did it