Professor Kim Tai-Won of the Department of English Literature and Linguistics
Wins the 14th English and English Literature Award in Thesis
Professor Kim Tai-Won, Department of English Literature and Linguistics, won the 14th English and English Literature Award in Thesis granted by the English Language and Literature Association of Korea (ELLAK). Founded in 1954, the ELLAK was the first and is the most well-known English and English literature society in Korea. Since 2007, the ELLAK has been awarding English and English Literature Award in Thesis for the most excellent thesis through recommendations among those published in over 50 academic journals of sub-societies.
The awards ceremony was held online during the ELLAK International Conference on December 18, and a prize plaque and prize money were granted.
The winning thesis was titled "Suggestions for a New Challenge in the Korean Translation of Shakespeare," which was published in Shakespeare Review in December 2019. The thesis illuminated the significance of critical comparative analysis on the Korean translations of Shakespeare's works on the 100 year anniversary of the first introduction to Korea, raising several theoretical points of discussion required for the Korean translation and research of Shakespeare’s works to take a new challenge in the 21st Century.
Considering that it is difficult to verify which texts are the original versions of Shakespeare's works, Professor Kim argued that translators must also take on the role of editor as well as the role of a kind of collaborative creator to inspire new life into his works. In addition, Professor Kim stated that translation of the original text requires not just reviving the original meaning, but also providing a new significance to reflect the present time in the original text as a kind of “phantom summoner.”
Professor Kim Tai-Won expressed his appreciation for the award by saying, "Creative acceptance of foreign literature can be an important source to enrich Korean literature and culture, and I expect that new translations of Shakespeare can make such a contribution."
