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Award
2021 LTI Korea Translation Award
2021 한국문학 번역대상
2021.12.07. ~ 12.07.
The 2021 Korea Translation Award was awarded to two works of translated literature after a thorough two-step review process evaluating 136 translated works in 24 languages, in which the first round is reviewed by a foreign expert and the second round a Korean expert. The 2021 Grand Prize in Korean literary translation went to Park In Won’s translation of Kim Young-ha’s “Diary of a Murderer”. The President of Literature Translation Institute of Korea Award for classic literature went to Kim Busik’s translation of Lee Gangrae’s “History of the Three Kingdoms 2” into Vietnamese by Ngyuen Ngoc Que. The evaluation process was as follows. The 2021 Korea Translation Award followed a set evaluation process. The first round included a panel of native-speaking editors and writers living abroad who evaluated for readability, literary style, consideration of local literature, and the like. After this process, 43 books from 20 languages were selected to move onto the next round. The second round of evaluation was done by a panel of experts in Korea who evaluated for level of understanding of the work, translation accuracy and faithfulness, artistic fidelity, and the like. This process produced 15 books from 15 languages that were selected for prize eligibility. The third round had a panel of 8 experts representing the major language groups. The 15 books on the short list were evaluated individually according to the reasons that it should be selected, then the other panelists were given time to ask questions and add their own opinions. This process helped to narrow the short list. Through this process, the judges were able to share detailed information about the translation quality of the works to be included in the final list, the status of the local publisher, and the reactions of local literary scene and readers. Since several works competed fiercely, the decision was made to select two of the best Asian and Western translations. Four translations into Chinese, Vietnamese, English, and German were chosen as finalists. The four translated works were evaluated for a final time to narrow the selection to one work from Asia and the West, leading to the final announcement of the 2021 LTI Korea Translation Award. Park In Won’s translation of Kim Young-ha’s “Diary of a Murderer” was recognized for its excellent performance in the local market and its excellent writing style that caught the attention of German readers while garnering interest in Kim Young-ha as an author. Meanwhile, Nguyen Ngoc Que’s translation of “History of the Three Kingdoms 2” was a challenging translation of classic Korean literature that was rendered smoothly into the Vietnamese, thus making it accessible for Vietnamese readers. For reference, both prize winners have amassed a wealth of experience in the translation of modern and classic Korean literature. The judges felt that these translations of Korean literature were pioneers of a new era. The first reason was the remarkably improved level of translation. The emergence of young translators who possessed the same talent for writing as the original authors was particularly impressive. As can be seen by the publication of Korean literature translations through well-known publishers who were not active in publishing Korean literature in the past, the expansion of Korean literature is diversifying and moving away from the previous practice of being limited to a small group of specific publishers. Thanks to worldwide interest in Korean cultural content, now is the time for new channels through which Korean literature may be translated and published abroad.