'Storytelling, universality key to overseas success'

Marking its 10th anniversary, the Korea Literature Translation Institute (KLTI) holds the 5th International Translator's Conference titled "Korean Literature into the World: the Past 10 Years and the Next Decade", which took place Thursday and Friday at the Press Center in Seoul. / Courtesy of KLTI

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Korea Literature Translation Institute celebrates 10th anniversary of foundation

By Chung Ah-young

The Korea Literature Translation Institute (KLTI) celebrates the 10th anniversary of its foundation this year after helping Korean literature become known to overseas readers. Translators and publishers from English-speaking countries as well as France, China, Germany and Poland gathered to discuss its current status on the world literature scene and to give advice for the further success of Korean literature.

Lim Yeong-hee, a translator at KLTI and a planning manager of Philippe Picquier, a French publisher, said that to succeed in overseas markets, Korean literature should be universal and focus on storytelling rather than its tradition, history and cultural identity.

"In the 1970s and '80s, most Korean literary works dealt with the Korean War (1950-1953). When they were introduced in France in 1990s, they were not successful. But recently, young Korean authors mix fantasy and reality in a solid structure with more universal themes. These works are appealing overseas, even to picky French readers. Now Korean literature is one of the most actively publicized in the market", she said at a recent press conference.

"Storytelling and universality are keys to overseas success for Korean literature. Narrative is very important when it comes to translation. While keeping a strong narrative, Korean tradition and culture should be spontaneously mixed in the middle of the story", Lim said. The translator took the example of Kim Young-ha who produces interesting storylines in lucid prose.

"Kim's works are very appealing to foreign readers because when they are translated into other languages, his literary language becomes very clear and intriguing", she said. For that reason, she is trying to introduce more young authors to French readers.

Bruce Fulton, a KLTI translator and professor at the University of British Columbia in Canada, said that Korea has a rich tradition of oral literature and the power of storytelling as exhibited by such authors as Chae Man-shik and Hwang Sun-won. "Rather than heavy themes, light subjects that are easily read by foreign authors can be attractive in the overseas market", he said.

Charles Montgomery, a professor at Dongguk University, said that the biggest strength of Korean literature is the "new and unknown". "When authors like Shin Kyung-sook and Kim Young-ha appear in the media, the joy of the discovery is huge. Now Korean literature, food, video and 'hallyu' are coming out all at once into the English-speaking world. They are having an accumulated impact. I think this impact increases because Korea is also in a very interesting time in terms of the Internet and social media", he said.

Marzena Stefanska-Adams who worked for many years as a translator at several Polish and Korean companies established Kwiaty Orientu, the first and only Polish publishing company, dedicated to promoting Korea, its culture and literature in Poland in 2007.

The company has published 12 books including "A Day in the Life of Kobo" by Pak Tae-won, "Vampire and Other Short Stories" and "The Empire of Light" by Kim Young-ha, "Last Autumn Love and Other Short Stories" and "The Bird" by Oh Jeong-hui as well as "Please Look After Mom" by Shin Kyung-sook.

"In the past, Korean literature was almost unknown to Polish readers. But after establishing my company in 2007, interest in Korean literature is slowly growing. Maybe, four to five years later, the popularity of Korean literature will dramatically rise", she said. In the future the company will publish more Korean children's books in her country, she said.

Pio E. Serrano, head of Editorial Verbum in Spain, said that it is true that Korea was a late comer in terms of literature among neighboring countries such as China and Japan, which have similar cultural backgrounds, because it opened its doors to the world
too late.

"In the past 10 years, the presence of Korean film activities has surprised Spanish people. Its industry and technology are also known to the Spanish. The presence of the film industry has opened eyes to Korea. Korean cultural art moved the interest of Spanish leaders onto Korean literature", he said.

He suggested that Korean narrative short stories might arouse the interest of Spanish readers. Also, the Spanish Civil War and the Korean War are paralleled so that people from both countries can share the experience. He also underlined essays dealing with religions such as Buddhism, and the traditional ways of Korean experience and economy, languages, politics and education can be attractive sales.

Verbum has published 47 Korean books as part of its Korean literature series since 2005 and he has written numerous essays on the subject.

Heike Lee, a professor of Hamburg University in Germany, said the number of translations of Korean literature still remains small. Earnest translations began in the late 1990s with the support of the KLTI.

"But the number of Korean literary works is gradually growing. Now some 100 titles have been translated into German due to the improvement of the quality of the translations", she said.

Translators and professors discussed "Korean Literature into the World: the Past 10 Years and the Next Decade" at the 5th International Translator's Conference marking the 10th anniversary of the institute, which took place from Sept. 22 to 23 at the Press Center in Seoul.

The KLTI has supported translations of 486 books into 28 languages, and since 2007 has held the international translator's conference annually.