ID :
40004
Sun, 01/11/2009 - 11:43
Auther :

(Yonhap Interview) Translator finds creative wiggle room in language barrier

By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Yonhap) -- God may not have intended any of it, but the divergent
languages that flowed from the Tower of Babel created a communication barrier
that in today's literary community is a welcome tool of creativity for
translators.
Those who have read both the original and the English version of Japanese author
Haruki Murakami's renowned novel "Norwegian Wood (1987)" will know how a
linguistic gap can often kindle vastly different sentiments.
"Jay Rubin, the main translator of Murakami's novels, was not only a translator
but also has occasionally assumed the role of an editor and creative writer. He
showed a good translator does more than simply changing a text from the source of
language to the target language," Jason Park, an accomplished Korean to English
translator, said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency.
Park, whose Korean name is Park Joon-seong, received the U.S. Pen Translation
Fund Award in 2004 for his translation of the Korean novel "Diary of a Vagabond."
The book, known as "Burangilgi" in Korean, is a collection of contemporary short
stories and novellas by South Korean author Song Yong, depicting a Kafkaesque
world of ordinary people trapped in an authoritarian society.
The novel, which could have slipped into oblivion, drew attention from readers
after Park's translation. The book had been out of print for decades after its
first publication in 1977.
The 42-year-old translator said the story reminded him of Franz Kafka's
"Metamorphosis," and Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "Notes from the Underground."
"I was intrigued by the story's title and was drawn to a bizarre story where a
man lives in a stranger's attic without her knowledge," he said. "I found the
scene of confrontation between an African-American G.I. and his girlfriend, a
Korean bar girl, interesting."
A refined translator must not only be adept in both languages, but also have the
courage to make bold changes that are often necessary to break through the
linguistic barrier, Park says.
"Korean writing tends to include a lot of repetitive and wordy phrases, and
Korean also doesn't have present and past perfect tenses as English does," he
said. "The lack of structure in Korean fiction often leaves American readers
confused."
For these reasons, Park made several changes in his English translation of Song's
"Diary of a Vagabond."
"I convinced Song on cutting the last chapter as it would be a better story
without it," he said. "And changes were made while I tried to naturalize the
language by removing wordy, repetitive or redundant phrases."
An author of two English novels, Park says there is "definitely" a growing
interest in the West in Korean authors and their work, more of which would be
recognized among English readers through a more strategic approach.
"There's been more in Korean literature in Europe, especially in Germany and
France, since the Frankfurter Book Fair 2005 when Korea was the Guest of Honor,"
he said. "But writers considered as 'great' in one country often don't receive
the same recognition in another country."
"Although one can't blame it solely on the lack of promotional efforts (by the
Korean government), it's true that a better strategic approach to the U.S. market
will see a better result."
Park, who was born in Seoul, left the city in his late twenties to study English
in the United States after studying Western philosophy at a local college here.
"Reading was the most important way of learning English when I was in Korea," he
said.
Having recently completed a new novel, "The Land of Morning Calm," Park says he
is always interested in taking on new translation projects if and when he
discovers interesting works.
hayney@yna.co.kr
(END)

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