번역과 한국문학: 어느 번역자의 변론

Abstract

This essay, based on a Korean translator’s own experiences in both Korean and English translation, attempts to raise a question about the supremacy of the original work, generally presupposed in the field of translation theory and criticism. Considering there is a discrepancy between the idea of a pure national language and the various practical contexts in which it is actually used, this essay defends a translator’s authorship, based on Walter Benjamin’s arguments on the task of a translator. Then, it looks into the often unmentioned and ignored reality surrounding a Korean translator, for instance, regarding him/her a contract worker, treating a translation as a copy or a version of the original, and yet putting on the translator’s shoulders the burden of reproducing the mysterious beauty of the original. It also examines the belletristic desire of a poet-critic on which he/she may easily be taken prey. Ultimately, this essay tries to say it is about time to give just credit to a translator as a creative author of another original and criticize English translation of Korean literature in the context of world literature rather than "Korean literature in English."