한국 현대희곡 영어번역의 현황 분석과 발전방향

Abstract

The English translations of contemporary Korean theater, which have been comparatively alienated compared to other popular literary genres, have made a significant achievement since the beginning of the 21st century. However, there is a greater need for the introduction and promotion of talented contemporary Korean playwrights and their works to English-speaking readers and audiences as this diversity of themes and styles is expected to establish an effective communication with a new class of international readers and audience in English-speaking countries. For this purpose, more native-speaker theater translators who could not only translate texts but also are capable of staging the translated texts for live performance are needed. In the area of publication, several important English translations of contemporary Korean theater have been published by prestigious publishers in the English-speaking countries including the Univ. of Hawaii Press and Columbia University Press. In order to keep this effort valuable, it is critically important to create more educational and practical needs in the English-speaking countries for the English translations of Korean theater, and this should be done in Asian theater class setting at college. This leads to an important necessity for the publication of scholarly books and works in English including the teacher's guide on contemporary Korean theater and playwrights, so that professors and instructors who are not yet familiar with Korean theater could have access to various resources on contemporary Korean theater to teach the topics in class. Literary translation operates with specific intent and goal as it is intended to appeal to a new kind of readers and audience in different language settings, and influence them through translations. This context inevitably requires appropriate and effective strategies and approaches. In this sense, this study has provided a critical review and analysis of the English translation of contemporary Korean theater of the past several decades and a more desired direction of the English translation as well as internationalization of contemporary Korean theater