Distortion of a text through narrative framing in translation: A case study of controversy surrounding the Korean translation of Angus Deaton’s The Great Escape

Abstract

This study explores a process in which narratives are manufactured in translation and subsequently undermined by opposing narratives. Hankyung BP, a publishing company of a right-wing news agency, published the Korean edition of the economist Angus Deaton’s The Great Escape. However, a massive controversy surrounding the translation was sparked by a researcher at a progressive research institute who exposed gross distortion of the text by Hankyung BP. The publishing company was discovered to have changed the subtitle of the book, added a blurb, included a new preface, and made many omissions, all believed to be an attempt to manipulate the text. Many conservative economic institutes were also found to have collaborated in creating narratives by falsely positioning Deaton as a counterpoint to the French economist Thomas Piketty, whose progressive ideas gained enormous popularity among liberals in Korea. However, the publishing company did not acknowledge any wrongdoings or mistranslation, stating that the alterations were merely editorial changes. The conflict entailed attacks and counterattacks between the concerned parties. This investigative case study uses news articles and paratexts leading up to and following the publication of the Korean translation to demonstrate that a text can be manipulated by social institutes to uphold their own position and challenge opposing views.