Korean Literature Conference in Vietnam

At the workshop, the current situation and prospects of translating and promoting Korean literary works in Vietnam was a topic that received much attention as well as comments from delegates.

Cultural exchanges between Vietnam and Korea began from the late 16th century to the 20th century, but the history of Vietnamese translation of Korean literature, officially, is only 22 years old. In 1992, Vietnam - Korea diplomatic relations were officially established. Besides the increasing investment of Korean enterprises in Vietnam, the interest of Koreans in Vietnam is also growing and vice versa. The favorable cooperative relationship between the two countries has created favorable conditions for literary exchanges to develop strongly. In terms of cultural exchanges, the memoirThe world is so big and there is so much to do.by Chairman of Daewoo Group - Mr. Kim Woo-Jung was translated into Vietnamese in 1993 and can be considered the first translation in the literary field of a Korean memoir into Vietnamese. Up to now, Vietnamese literature introduced in Korean literature and Korean literature introduced in Vietnam are increasingly developing in both the number of books and the quality of translation. Every year, the Korean Literature Translation Institute also organizes the award of translated literature to Vietnamese translators who have excellently translated Korean literary works. These activities have been and are an important channel to promote cultural exchange and mutual understanding between the two countries.

To improve the efficiency of Korean literature translation in Vietnam, opinions suggest that it is necessary to promote the improvement and enhancement of the quality of the Vietnamese translation team, and to provide necessary and continuous support for Korean literature translators currently working in Vietnam. In addition, with ancient Korean literature, Chinese literary works account for a high proportion and have cultural similarities with Vietnam, which also belongs to the Confucian culture, so the equivalence of translation is very high. Therefore, when translating ancient Korean literary works, it is necessary to find Vietnamese experts who understand Chinese literature, and then translate together with Korean experts on Vietnam to achieve better translation results.

In addition, the communication and promotion of translated works are considered to play an important role in bringing translated works closer to the Vietnamese public. Therefore, organizing scientific seminars like this, with the coordination of training and specialized research institutions of Korea and Vietnam, will help expand translation activities as well as improve professionalism in translation activities. The introduction and dissemination of translated works should be directed first to Vietnamese researchers of Korean literature, to universities in Vietnam that teach Korean studies, specialized newspapers, etc. In addition, management units need to consider the effectiveness of communication in the community of international students in Korea, in multicultural families, workers in Korean enterprises, etc.

The workshop heard the following keynote speeches:Translation as an act of reinterpretation to share and create the world(translator Phung Khac Kien, Vietnam Institute of Literature);Hwang Sun-won and the word Love in the short stories “Shower” and “Star”(Dr. Ha Minh Thanh, Faculty of Oriental Studies);The autobiographical meaning in the world of Park Wan Seo's works - the focus of the work "Who ate all the Sing-a trees that day"? (Nguyen Le Thu, University of Foreign Languages, VNU);Fantasy elements in Kim Young Ha's stories(Nguyen Thi Hien);The situation of translating Korean literature into Vietnamese and development plans(Professor Ahn Kyeong-hwan, Choseon University, Korea).