The Role of Translation in the Promotion of Korean Literature

When Han Kang’s novel, The Vegetarian, won the distinguished Man Booker International Prize in 2016, the Korean literary establishment initially praised this achievement and attributed it mainly to the novel’s English translation. However, soon after, members of the academia and the media started to criticize Deborah Smith’s English translation, triggering a controversy over the standards of a good translation. This article investigates the meaning and role attributed to translation in South Korea, in the quest for Korean literature’s international recognition. Ultimately, the discussion surrounding the translation of The Vegetarian illustrates the Korean expectation that translators achieve a fine balance between conveying a supposedly unique national identity and the universality of Korean literature.