Translator’s Visit

[Anchor Lead]

British translator Deborah Smith, famed in this country for translating the award-winning book "The Vegetarian" by Korean writer Han Kang, has visited Korea for the first time since receiving the Man Booker prize.

[Pkg]

A month after winning the Man Booker International prize for translating a Korean book... Deborah Smith made a visit to Korea. She read with confidence her acceptance speech, which she had written down in advance.

[Soundbite] Deborah Smith(Korean Literature Translator)

Smith said that although her translation of "The Vegetarian" was not perfect, her Korean skills keep improving. She also stressed that the role of a translator is to be as close to the original as possible while also re-writing the story in a more original way if necessary.

[Soundbite] Deborah Smith (Korean Literature Translator)

An English literature major at Cambridge University, Smith began to learn Korean on her own in 2010. In addition to "The Vegetarian," she has also translated Han Kang's book "Human Acts" and Ahn Do-hyun's book "The Salmon Who Dared to Leap Higher."

[Soundbite] Deborah Smith(Korean Literature Translator)

Smith has recently founded a publishing company specializing in Asian literature. She plans to translate at least one Korean book each year in a bid to introduce Korean literature to the world.