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영어

Many historical source texts written in Chinese regarding Korean history have remained almost cryptic for those who did not master the reading of old Chinese texts written by historians and the literates of the previous dynasties in Korea. However, there have been many preceding examinations by scholars of Korean linguistics and Korean history since 1960s regarding interpreting officials(Yeggwan) and their institutions. Until now, these studies have been rarely introduced to the Interpreting and Translations studies in Korea and elsewhere. This paper aims to provide an overview of official interpreters and respective institutions until the Goryeo Dynasty (1391 A.D.) and to take a step forward in establishing history of Interpreting in Korea. The overview is based on the preceding research results and the Database of Korean Classics where we can find the translated historical source texts into Korean. There was an active exchange between Korea and China respectively Japan, and Yeoggwans during the Three Kingdoms period and institutions like Waejeon in Shilla, these exchanges have been recorded by historians. (There have been offices for interpreting in Barhae and Taebong as well). Many records regarding interpreters and their offices have been found during the Goryeo period, e. g. office for Guest, Interim office for Interpreting, Bureau for Interpreting. Informations from source texts and research results give us an insight into class relations and social position of Yeoggwans and their role in Goryeo.