Translation and post-bellum image buildingkorean translation into the us after the korean war

Resumen

This research looks into literary translations from Korean into English right after the Korean War (1951 to 1975), comparing them to the translations published in the later years of truce and development (1976 to 2000). The aim is to discern to what extent a historical situation of interest in another culture rises in parallel to the demand for literary translations from that culture. The comparison shows no direct correlation between one and the other, suggesting that the translation flows have a logic on its own. However, several relations are displayed. The more volumes in the flow and the longer the cultural exchange, the wider the availability of agents (translators, editors, publishers), and the more specialized they become. The presentation discourses also specialize, becoming more target-oriented. As the flow grew, Korean literature was presented in more specific terms; translation and translators lost visibility; and the commercial aim becomes more noticeable.