earticle

영어

Yi Ch'ŏngjun (1939-2008) occupies an important place in contemporary Korean literature. He has been canonized in his native country, with his complete works already made available by two different publishers. He is also one of the most translated Korean authors in France. The present study analyzes the French translations of Yi’s oeuvre in order to help map the introduction of Korean literature in France and to explore its “horizon of expectations.” It was found that 31 works by Yi were translated into French between 1966 and 2014 (three novels, two novellas, and 26 short stories). A shift analysis of the translations reveals a large number of interventions by translators and editors, including changes in paragraphing, spaces added or removed between paragraphs, inversion of phrases and paragraphs, changes of discourse, and deletion of cultural elements. The problem with such mediation is that it can modify the aesthetic effect of a work. Rather than labelling these translations as being unethical, it is advised that they be placed in the history of Korean literature’s reception in France. Nevertheless, because “the experience of the foreign” can evolve according to social, cultural, and historical contexts, retranslation of Yi’s works is necessary.