Deborah Smith (born 15 December 1987) is a British translator of Korean fiction. She translated ''

The Vegetarian ''The Vegetarian'' () is a South Korean three-part novel written by Han Kang and first published in 2007. Based on Han's 1997 short story "The Fruit of My Woman", ''The Vegetarian'' is set in modern-day Seoul and tells the story of Yeong-hye, a ...

'' by

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

author

Han Kang Han Kang (; born November 27, 1970) is a South Korean writer. She won the Man Booker International Prize for fiction in 2016 for ''The Vegetarian'', a novel about a woman's descent into mental illness and neglect from her family. The novel is ...

, for which she and the author were co-winners of the

Man Booker International Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize was announced ...

in 2016. After graduating from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, Smith began learning

in 2009, after discovering that there were few translations into English of Korean literature. In 2015, Smith founded

Tilted Axis Press Tilted Axis Press is a Nonprofit organization, non-profit British Publishing, publishing house specializing in the publication of contemporary Asian literature. Founded by Deborah Smith (translator), Deborah Smith in 2015 following the success o ...

, a non-profit publishing house devoted to books that "might not otherwise make it into English." She has been a research fellow at

SOAS SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

. In June 2018 Smith was elected Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

in its "40 Under 40" initiative.

Debate over translation

In an article published in 2017, writer and academic Charse Yun reported on criticisms in the Korean media of the English translation of ''The Vegetarian'' because of its omissions, embellishments, and mistranslations. After reading the translation against the original, Yun wonders,

Did the translation take things too far? One distinguished translator told me he felt the context and style were so different that it was more reasonable to speak of Smith’s work as an adaptation, not a translation.

While Yun calls the translation "a stunning achievement," he acknowledges that for some readers who are familiar with the original "the translation has deviated so far ... that the disparity strains their eyes and ruins their enjoyment." Smith has defended her translation, stating

To say that my English translation of ''The Vegetarian'' is a “completely different book” from the Korean original is, of course, in one sense, entirely correct. Since there is no such thing as a truly literal translation — no two languages’ grammars match, their vocabularies diverge, even punctuation has a different weight — there can be no such thing as a translation that is not “creative.” And while most of us translators think of ourselves as “faithful,” definitions of faithfulness can differ. Because languages function differently, much of translation is about achieving a similar effect by different means; not only are difference, change, and interpretation completely normal, but they are in fact an integral part of faithfulness.

The author

has stood by Smith's translation.

Translations

, ''

'' (2015) *

Ahn Do-Hyun An Dohyeon (Yeocheon, Korea, 1961) is a South Korean poet and university professor. Life An Dohyeon was born in 1961 in Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province. While in high school, he joined the creative writing club 'Taedonggi Literary Societ ...

, ''The Salmon Who Dared To Leap Higher'' (2015) * Han Kang, ''Human Acts'' (2016) *

Bae Suah Bae Suah (born 1965) is a South Korean author and translator. Life Bae graduated from Ewha Womans University with a degree in chemistry. At the time of her debut in 1993, she was a government employee working behind the embarkation/disembar ...

, ''A Greater Music'' (2016) * Bandi, ''

The Accusation ''The Accusation'' ( it, Atto d'accusa) is a 1950 Italian melodrama film directed by Giacomo Gentilomo. Cast * Lea Padovani as Irene * Marcello Mastroianni as Renato La Torre * Andrea Checchi as Inspector Constantini * as Miss Inghirami * Em ...

'' (2017) * Bae Suah, ''Recitation'' (2017) * Bae Suah, ''North Station'' (2017) * Han Kang, ''The White Book'' (2017) * Bae Suah, ''Untold Day and Night'' (2020)

References

External links

Website for Tilted Axis Press
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Deborah (translator) British translators 1987 births Living people Korean–English translators International Booker Prize winners Literary translators British women writers Alumni of the University of Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature