Translating Indian poetry in the Colonial Period in Korea
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Theresa Hyun
Abstract
This paper focuses on how, via English as relay language, Koreans under Japanese rule turned to translations of Indian poetry, inspired by Indians’ anticolonial struggles and interest in how these poets transmitted Asian emotions and spiritual outlook. Translations of Rabindranath Tagore’s works were linked to concerns such as the merits of free vs. literal translation, the importance of translating from the original, the perceived need to overcome the limits of the Korean language, and the importance of enriching Korean literature through imports. Translations contributed to the development of a new writing style and the establishment of children’s literature. Translations of poems by Sarojini Naidu were fewer in number than those of Tagore, but they acted as a model of women’s participation in national renewal.
Abstract
This paper focuses on how, via English as relay language, Koreans under Japanese rule turned to translations of Indian poetry, inspired by Indians’ anticolonial struggles and interest in how these poets transmitted Asian emotions and spiritual outlook. Translations of Rabindranath Tagore’s works were linked to concerns such as the merits of free vs. literal translation, the importance of translating from the original, the perceived need to overcome the limits of the Korean language, and the importance of enriching Korean literature through imports. Translations contributed to the development of a new writing style and the establishment of children’s literature. Translations of poems by Sarojini Naidu were fewer in number than those of Tagore, but they acted as a model of women’s participation in national renewal.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Foreword ix
- Introduction 1
- Caste in and Recasting language 17
- Translation as resistance 29
- Tellings and renderings in medieval Karnataka 43
- Translating tragedy into Kannada 57
- The afterlives of panditry 75
- Beyond textual acts of translation 95
- Reading Gandhi in two tongues 107
- Being-in-translation 119
- (Mis)Representation of sufism through translation 133
- Translating Indian poetry in the Colonial Period in Korea 145
- A. K. Ramanujan 161
- An etymological exploration of ‘translation’ in Japan 175
- Translating against the grain 195
- Index 213
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Foreword ix
- Introduction 1
- Caste in and Recasting language 17
- Translation as resistance 29
- Tellings and renderings in medieval Karnataka 43
- Translating tragedy into Kannada 57
- The afterlives of panditry 75
- Beyond textual acts of translation 95
- Reading Gandhi in two tongues 107
- Being-in-translation 119
- (Mis)Representation of sufism through translation 133
- Translating Indian poetry in the Colonial Period in Korea 145
- A. K. Ramanujan 161
- An etymological exploration of ‘translation’ in Japan 175
- Translating against the grain 195
- Index 213
