Adam A Zulawnik

Relations between Korea and Japan have been irregular throughout history, leading to a "love-hate" relationship. Events often attributed to the so called 'anti-Korea' and 'anti-Japan' sentiments in Japan and South Korea, respectively, are numerous, ranging from Japanese invasions of the Korean peninsula in the 16th century, 35 years of occupation in the 20th century, post-war events such as Japan's alleged 'lack of historical recognition, to South Korean claims to Japanese intellectual property (Lee Y, 1998). The 'Takeshima/Dokdo Island problem', is an ongoing territorial dispute. In the 21st century a new phenomenon appeared in the form of the 'Korean Wave' (Kim J, 2012). This boom in popularity of Korean culture in Japan has also provoked anti-Korean sentiment in some circles, illustrated by the controversial manga 'Hate Korean Wave’ (Kenkanryū), by Yamano Sharin. The comic led to a response from South Korean comic artist Byeong-seol Yang, who produced 'Hate Japanese Wave'(Hyeomillyu). These comics, their use as propaganda, and their effect on relations between the countries have been widely discussed in Japan and, to some extent, Korea. Scholars without knowledge of the source languages, however, cannot fully participate in such a debate, hence the need for impartial translations. I have undertaken to translate both comics into English as part of a growing project. This chapter discusses the strategies employed when dealing with controversial material, with particular focus on the ‘skopos’, or 'purpose' of translation, ethics, and risk management as key factors.

Originally compiled and written by North Korean defector and author Lim Il, this English-language edition, thoroughly annotated by Dr. Adam Zulawnik, is a fascinating collection of thirty-four interviews with highly prominent North Korean defectors residing in South Korea, ranging from religious figures, to artists, politicians, North Korea experts, and even divers and subway train operators. The 34 interviews herein are listed chronologically according to their date of arrival to South Korea and span almost 70 years. The book also includes six special columns addressing key issues pertaining to North Korean defectors and their lives in South Korea, such as the relationship between North Korean defectors and their South Korean counterparts (South Korean defectors to North Korea), nomenclature (how North Korean defectors have been referred to in South Korean society over time), arrival and settlement provisions from the South Korean government, the nuanced difference between defectors, defector-residents, and the displaced, North Korean defector-residents and their position in South Korean politics, and a short biography of five notable North Korean defector-residents who were not interviewed. The book is a valuable testament to North Korean defector-residents and unique in that it provides a candid account of each individual’s experience. It will prove to be especially useful to students and scholars seeking to understand the complex dynamics of North Korean society and the status of exiles in South Korea, and a vital resource for students of Korean Studies. Keywords: North Korea, North Korean defectors, DPRK, Human Rights, South Korea

私の漢字の冒険は、十三歳の時、ニュージーランドのオークランドという町の中学で始まりました。
「漢字をどうやって勉強すれば良いのだろうか」と思って、先ずは他の学生と一緒に、反復習得法をやってみました。漢字がどういうものなのか、まだまだ余り分からず、毎日５つの漢字を 20 回ずつ書き、そのプロセスをまた５回繰り返していました。私のような、日本語を勉強し始めたばかり者には、これぐらいの約 100 字が読める能力で十分だったのかもしれませんが、日本での生活、日本での勉学を目指している学習者には足りないものに思えました。
私の同級生は皆、日本文化をもっともっと深く知りたかったのですが、たった 100 字ではそういう目標を達成するのは無理でしょう。
それでは、外国人が常用漢字を習得するには何が必要でしょうか。外国人の場合には、反復習得法ではあまり良くないのではないかと思えます。
日本人にっとっても、最高の方法ではないと間違いなく言えますが、日本語教育を受けている外国人の場合は、時間が圧倒的に不足するせいで、反復習得法では無理だと思います。私は高校二年になった時、成績が良ければ大学に飛び級で入れるということを耳にしました。そして、直ぐオークランド大学東洋学部の日本語コースに入りたくなり、入学試験の為に色んな準備をしました。様々な日本語の習得方法を研究したり、図書館によく通いました。
その時、素晴らしい発見をしました。反復習得法を止め、James W. Heisig 著「Guide to remembering the Kanji 」という本を頼りに、２日間だけで 500 字ほどマスターで
きたのです。私は特別記憶力が良い人間ではないし、漢字圏の国に興味はなかったのですが、Heisig の習得方法の効果には吃驚仰天しました。それで、来日して外国人と日本人に使われている漢字習得方法を研究することにし、将来日本と海外の漢字教育の問題を解決しようと決意しました。以下は、今後の漢字習得についての研究の第一段階です。

Controversial, potentially dangerous issues are bound to arise in an increasingly globalised world. Translators, as always, will need to provide linguistic assistance to facilitate understanding for all concerned parties. In this paper, through the exploration of the Japanese manga comic medium, I demonstrate an innovative translation methodology, which whilst serving as a pedagogical tool for gaining deeper insight into the difficult nature of the translation process, also provides potential risk management elements that can be employed when dealing with so-called controversial material, such as politically or historically debated texts. This paper explores issues surrounding the translation of Japanese graphic novel Manga Kenkanryū which addresses key debated historical and political issues pertaining to Japan-Korea relations. In the past four decades, linguistic, ethical, and risk management issues have been raised in the field of Translation Studies and Linguistics. Researchers such as Venuti and Tymoczko have placed particular focus on the power and visibility (or lack thereof) of the translator in the production of translations of controversial texts. However, risks associated with the translation of controversial texts have not been discussed in great detail, in spite of prominent examples such as mistranslation of political texts in the Middle-East and Europe.

The boom in popularity of South Korean culture (the ‘Korean Wave’) in Japan has also provoked anti-Korean sentiment and criticism in some circles, illustrated by the publication of the highly controversial manga comic Hate Korean Wave(Kenkanryū), by Yamano Sharin. In turn, this led to a response by South Korean comic artist Byeong-seol Yang, who produced the anti-Japanese comic, Hate Japanese Wave (Hyeomillyu). These comic books, their use as tools of propaganda, and their effect on relations between the two countries have been widely discussed both in Japan and Korea. However, Asian Studies scholars in other countries without knowledge of the source languages cannot fully participate in this debate, hence the need for complete and impartial translations into third languages. I undertook to translate parts of both comic books into English with the aim of discussing translation approaches and strategies that could be employed when dealing with sensitive, controversial, and sometimes emotive material in translation. The project in particular focuses on addressing skopos or 'translation purpose', translator ethics, and risk management as key factors informing translation decisions. Additional discussion addresses the issues of the technical challenges in comic book translation. It is hoped that through addressing the above issues, the project shall offer insight not only into controversial-text aimed translation theory in relation to practice in the Japanese and Korean languages, but also reinstall some confidence in the 'faithful translator'.

The translation of metaphors and idioms is one of the most challenging tasks faced by translators. The methodologies for metaphor translation are relevant to both literary and non-literary translation, and have been extensively discussed in Translation Studies, notably Broeck (1978), Newmark (1981), Toury (1995), and in more recent times, Schäffner (2012), based on earlier works by Lakoff and Johnson (1980). In this paper I argue that there is an important aspect missing from all three translation approaches: the translation/reproduction of paratextual source text elements of a metaphorical nature, or, 'visual metaphors'. Visual metaphors often carry no textual cues, and can be found in visual media such as comics, cartoons, and film. In this paper I propose a supplementation of metaphor translation methodology by examining examples found in the comic medium in the Japanese and Korean languages. I also argue that visual metaphor translation is especially troublesome, as it can often be difficult to determine the extent to which an image is culture bound. Finally, I stress that the task can be made all the more challenging when translating controversial texts, where the act visually portrayed by the author can easily become over or under-translated, potentially resulting in misinterpretation on part of the readership.

The 'cultural turn' in Translation Studies (TS) significantly altered the way in which translation theorists perceive the act of translating and its multifaceted, multicultural discourse. As a result, much of the focus of analysis in TS has steadily moved from source text (ST) based, often atomic analysis, to that of the target text (TT), and more importantly, the target context(s). This has, however, not always been the case with Asian languages. In this paper I try to address the cultural turn's significance through Lefevere and Bassnett's (1990) observation that it is an example of the complexity of translation - translation can never be innocent, as long as there is an impinging context, discourse, and transposition of ideology between cultures. I exemplify this argument through close analysis of South Korea's thus far unsuccessful attempts at attaining a Nobel Prize in Literature, a complex contemporary issue rarely discussed in academia. In doing so, I address some of the contradictions of Korean linguistic nationalism, such as frequent use of the lexical field our (Kr. uri), which I argue is intertwined with the nation's aforementioned failure in attaining 'literary stardom'. During the discussion I also utilise personal experiences as a translator of Korean and Japanese in order to emphasise that such issues are not just a matter of theory, but also practicality. Through these examples, I try and bring into relief the stark difference in Japanese - English and Korean - English 'translation culture' and 'paradoxes' contained therein, whilst stressing that translation is not simply a matter of word transfer or equivalence. Finally, I offer possible avenues for new research in translation in the wider Asian context.

The boom in popularity of South Korean culture in Japan (the ‘Korean Wave’) has also provoked anti-Korean sentiment and criticism in some circles, illustrated by the publication of the highly controversial manga 'Hate Korean Wave’(kenkanryū), by Yamano Sharin. In turn, this led to a response by South Korean manga artist Byeong-seol Yang, who produced the anti-Japanese manga, 'Hate Japanese Wave'(hyeomillyu). These manga, their use as tools of propaganda, and their effect on relations between the two countries have been widely discussed in Japan and, to some extent, Korea. However, Asian Studies scholars in other countries without knowledge of the source languages cannot fully participate in this debate, hence the need for complete and impartial translations into third languages. I undertook to translate both manga into English (initially two chapters from each), as part of my honours dissertation. This paper discusses the translation approach and strategies employed when dealing with sensitive, controversial, and sometimes emotive material in manga translation. In particular, it focuses on the ‘skopos’, or purpose of translation, translator ethics and risk management as key factors informing translation decisions. Additional issues such as technical challenges of the manga genre and lexical choices will also be discussed.

As may be expressed through English poet Andrew Marvell's words, "He is a translation's thief that addeth more, as much as he that taketh from the Store of the first author", a long held belief is that it is the translator's duty to 'faithfully' convey information contained in source texts assigned by the client as part of a translation task. Such responsibility places increased pressure and risk on translators who must deal with controversial issues as any misinterpretation may entail serious consequences ranging from economic failure in the given task, a misled readership, or in some cases, even death. This paper shall present findings from research which addressed the issues of translation risk with focus on Korean-English translation. The theoretical framework applied throughout the project shall be exemplified through discussion and justification of my personal translation choices made during the translation of factual source text errors (?) and nationalistic discourse found in the highly controversial anti-Japanese comic "Hate Japanese Wave" by Korean manhwa comic artist Byongseol Yang. The paper shall conclude with a summary of some of the possible translation choices available to translators working with controversial texts similar to that discussed, whilst also providing hypotheses for my current doctoral research, cantered on the complete, analytical translation of the anti-Korean manga comic Manga Kenkanryū (Hate Korean Wave).

In this project, through the exploration of the Japanese manga comic medium, I exemplify a newly proposed translation methodology, which whilst serving as a pedagogical tool for gaining deeper insight into the difficult nature of the translation process also provides potential risk management elements when dealing with controversial material. This project explores the issues that surround the translation of controversial texts through the English translation of a volume of the highly controversial Japanese graphic novel (manga) Manga Kenkanryū (Hate Hallyu: The Comic) by Sharin Yamano (2005) which addresses key debated historical and political issues pertaining to Japan-Korea relations. The project has resulted in both the creation of a valuable source when examining Japanese-South Korea relations and a theoretical and methodological base for further research and the development of an online augmented translation space with specific devices perfectly suited for the translation of multi-modal texts such as, but not limited to, graphic novels and visual encyclopaedias.

Originally compiled and written by North Korean defector and author Lim Il, this English-language edition, thoroughly annotated by Dr. Adam Zulawnik, is a fascinating collection of thirty-four interviews with highly prominent North Korean defectors residing in South Korea, ranging from religious figures, to artists, politicians, North Korea experts, and even divers and subway train operators.

The 34 interviews herein are listed chronologically according to their date of arrival to South Korea and span almost 70 years. The book also includes six special columns addressing key issues pertaining to North Korean defectors and their lives in South Korea, such as the relationship between North Korean defectors and their South Korean counterparts (South Korean defectors to North Korea), nomenclature (how North Korean defectors have been referred to in South Korean society over time), arrival and settlement provisions from the South Korean government, the nuanced difference between defectors, defector-residents, and the displaced, North Korean defector-residents and their position in South Korean politics, and a short biography of five notable North Korean defector-residents who were not interviewed.

The book is a valuable testament to North Korean defector-residents and unique in that it provides a candid account of each individual’s experience. It will prove to be especially useful to students and scholars seeking to understand the complex dynamics of North Korean society and the status of exiles in South Korea, and a vital resource for students of Korean Studies.

Keywords: North Korea, North Korean defectors, DPRK, Human Rights, South Korea