Although Korean literature has been translated into foreign languages for over a century, the quality of these interpretations and translations is now being questioned. In 2007, a literary institute in Korea began evaluating published English translations of Korean works and recently released its results.

Standards of evaluation used A+, A, B+, B, C+, and C to rate the quality of translation. According to the study, "only 10 percent, or seven, among the 72 translated works scored an A in high reliability. Two thirds were evaluated as non-reliable (grade B to C) translations. There were no grade A+ works." Literature that received grades A and B+ were mainly from the1990s and 2000s.

Part of the evaluation team, Song Seung-cheol, an English language and literature professor of Hallym University, stated, "We found many problems with the translations, allowing us to get a grasp of where today's translations stand. So we will enhance our role to improve the quality of the translations."

It is planned that future literature translators who are fluent in Korean will be trained in an effective system of translation. In addition, the promotion of the export of Korean literature to foreign countries will continue.

07 July 2008