Vietnamese-, Italian- and Turkish-language translators at the Translation Workshop for Underrepresented Languages on July 30 pose for a group photo at their course's completion ceremony at Toz Moim Center in Seoul's Seocho-gu District.

By Uyen Nguyen
Photos = Nguyen Ngoc Que

Rising global interest in Korean literature has raised demand for quality translators who can render such works into foreign tongues. Against this backdrop, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea) runs programs and events to train aspiring translators.

The Translation Academy, the institute's flagship regular program, is offered in seven languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Japanese. The Translation Workshop for Underrepresented Languages also provides specialized training for aspiring translators of languages not in the regular curriculum.

The inaugural workshop in 2023 was for Romanian, Swedish and Polish, the 2024 edition for Italian and that last year for Vietnamese. This year's event was for Vietnamese, Italian and Turkish.

From July 13-31, this year's workshop combined online sessions with an offline program in Seoul. Participants from abroad received roundtrip airfare, accommodations and meals and those based in Korea got support for lodging, transportation and meals depending on their places of residence.

The workshop was centered on hands-on translation of literary works into the participants' respective languages. Four lectures by experts also sought to enhance understanding of Korean literature and translation.

"Meet the Author" sessions allowed participants to meet the authors of the works they were translating, ask questions and exchange opinions. As part of cultural field trips, the program also involved firsthand experience with Korea's literary and publishing culture through visits to Book City Letterpress Museum, Forest of Wisdom and Mimesis Art Museum in Paju, Gyeonggi-do Province.

Professor Nguyen Ngoc Que (fourth from left), head of this year's Vietnamese-language translation workshop, on July 28 poses for a group photo with participants in a "Meet the Author" session at Toz Moim Center in Seoul's Seocho-gu District.

Leading this year's Vietnamese-language translation workshop was Nguyen Ngoc Que, a professor at the Department of Korean-Vietnamese Interpreting and Translation of the International Graduate School of Language Education in Seoul. In 2021, he received the grand prize at the Korean Literature Translation Awards for his version of "Samguk Sagi 2" (History of the Three Kingdoms 2).

He took part in all aspects of the workshop from selecting works for translation and devising the curriculum to reviewing translations and providing individual feedback. "This was a great opportunity to directly mentor young translators and help them get exposed to literary translation to have them continue on that path," he said.

Poet Jeong Ho-Seung (second from left) on July 28 speaks at the Vietnamese-language session of "Meet the Author" at Toz Moim Center in Seoul's Seocho-gu District.

The Vietnamese-language workshop chose the fable collection "Pebble" by poet Jeong Ho-Seung for translation practice and met him at a Q&A about his works. They pledged to continue the translation for completion by year's end and publishing the Vietnamese edition next year.

"This translation is the fruit of the passion and dedication that all the participants showed toward Korean literature and literary translation," Nguyen said. "This project was possible due to the active support of LTI Korea."

This year’s Vietnamese-language workshop attracted 125 applicants, with just eight selected. One of them, Nguyen Thi Hai Yen, said, "The most memorable part of the workshop was 'Meet the Author.' Hearing Jeong Ho-Seung directly discuss his work greatly helped our understanding and translating it."

"It was also great to receive feedback from professor Nguyen Ngoc Que, which helped improve the quality of my translation."

LTI Korea plans to keep hosting workshops in countries with rising demand for Korean literature, with a focus on underrepresented languages, to find and develop promising talent in translation.

uyen81@korea.kr