Korean classics, folktales to be translated into different languages

Korean classics, folktales to be translated into different languages. July. 15, 2016 09:04. by 조종엽기자 jjj@donga.com. A sick person who turned into a skate, a Confucian scholar who returned after wandering a fairyland as a Taoist hermit, a man who disguised as a servant of a woman whom he loves after giving up a state examination.

These are stories in “Cheonyerok,” a collection of eccentric folk stories about a Taoist hermit, ghosts and ascetics collected by Im Bang (1640-1724), a writer from Joseon Dynasty.

The Literature Translation Institute of Korea announced on Thursday that it has decided to translate some 20 contemporary works written based on Korean classics such as “Story of Im Gyeong-eop,” “Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong,” “Jungin, a renaissance man of the Joseon Dynasty.” Each story will be translated to one or two different languages, producing the story of 11 foreign languages.

“Up to date, classics which have been recognized for academic values by Korean researchers have usually been translated. This time, however, books that would spark interest in general readers are selected,” said Professor Jeong Min (Hanyang University) who has listed up the candidate stories with Professor Jeong Byeong-seol (Seoul National University) and Professor Sim Gyeong-ho (Korea University). The list also includes “Travelogue of Tamra- A wider world outside the ocean” that contains interviews with residents in Jeju Island who drifted in 18th century and came back alive and others that might attract the interest of researchers who study cultural exchanges in East Asia.

It appears that the actual publication begins next year. The institute is now discussing with Penguin Books to publish five Korean classics such as “The cloud dream of nine,” “Queen Inhyeon” as Penguin Classics, a series of world masterpiece stories. The Washington post made a review on “The Story of Hong Gildong,” which was published in Penguin Classics last March.

“As 'The Vegetarian awarded with Man Booker International Prize has promoted Korean contemporary literature to the world, the translation of classics are expected to make known Korea’s traditional spirit, culture and portrays of the time,” said Kim Seong-gon, president of Literature Translation Institute of Korea.