`Korean books need more translation`

Christopher Merrill, director of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, is widely known as a leading writer and critic. But he has another specialty - Korean literature.

Merrill, who has collaborated with Korean writers to translate major literary works such as Hwang Ji-woo`s poems, said yesterday that more Korean literature should be translated for readers across the world.

"From the perspective of world literature, there are not that many English translations of Korean literature, and this is why Korean literature does not have a significant impact on American readers," Merrill said at a news conference held in Seoul yesterday.

Merrill visited Seoul at a time when Minumsa, a leading publisher here, put out the Korean version of his meditative work titled "Things of the Hidden God," a gripping account of his transforming pilgrimages to Mount Athos, in Greece, in the aftermath of the Balkan wars of the 1990s.

"I`m happy to see that my book, based on my trip to Greece, has been translated into Korean, and perhaps this is a sign of globalization," Merrill said. "I hope that Korean readers would be able to move closer to the things that are sacred, as I explained in the book."

Merrill worked as a war correspondent in the 1990s in the embattled Balkan region. After spending about 10 years in the battlegrounds, he wanted to reconcile and reflect on what he had experienced.

"I wanted to live as a poet, not as a journalist, but I realized that my poetic imagination ran out, my marriage was in a crisis," he said, adding that he confronted not only personal but also spiritual crisis.

Merrill said the book is mainly concerned about the crisis human beings face. "This type of crisis might be resolved or not. But I hope Korean readers will join my journey about such spiritual crisis," he said.

Merrill said he joined the International Writing Program as a director in 2000, and the project, originally initiated in 1967, is to invite professional writers to share their experiences with other writers from around the world.

So far, about 1,200 writers from 120 countries have benefited from the programs, Merrill said. "This year, 32 writers from 30 countries have joined the program," he said.

Merrill said about 20 Korean writers have been invited to the program and in the process he met with leading writers including Kim Young-ha, Hwang Ji-woo and Na Hee-duk. "The Korean writers I met broadened their literary horizon through the program," he said.

Even though Merrill views Korean literature as refined and sophisticated, he said more effort should be made to train professional translators and put out more English versions of major Korean literature.

"Some of the English translations do not fully reflect the nuances of the original Korean work," he said.

In contrast, there are a growing number of American readers who enjoy reading Chinese novels. The key role for the bridge between Chinese literature and American readers is top-notch translators, he said.

"Translators specializing in Chinese literature offer an important gateway for American readers, but there is no such influential translator in the field of Korean literature for the English-speaking readers," Merrill said.

Merrill said Hwang Ji-woo is a great author and he wants more of his poems translated into English so that younger American readers can get an idea of the profound meaning of life in general, expressed beautifully in Hwang`s famous poems.

By Yang Sung-jin



(insight@heraldm.com)