Introducing the Korean Literature Translation workshop

Walk into any good bookstore today, and you will likely see several of its shelves lined with Korean literature translated into English. Some of these works may even have a special space dedicated to them, such as an ‘award-winning’ table filled with the books of Han Kang, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2024, or an ‘international bestsellers’ section that includes I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokpokki by Baek Sehee, or Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung. One book that might catch your eye, with its striking, bright red cover, is The Trunk by Kim Ryeo-ryeong. This book is particularly notable because it was translated, not by a professional literary translator, but by a group of amateurs, including many university students. The Trunk was the outcome of the very first Korean Literature Translation Workshop (KLTW), a novel attempt at teaching literary translation. Supported by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea and the ANU Korea Institute, the KLTW brings together Korean learners, literature enthusiasts and amateur translators to provide them with the unique opportunity to learn important translation skills through hands-on translating experience.