Brother Anthony speaks to The Korea Times on Oct. 28 on his nearly four-decades-long career translating Korean works, mostly poetry, into English, at his office near Sogang University in Seoul. Korea Times photo by Kim Ji-soo
The bookshelves in Brother Anthony's crowded workspace at a western Seoul officetel near Sogang University has more space — a lot more than when this writer last visited more than a decade ago.
"I donated around 1,000 books to Oxford (University) about two years ago," he said. Sogang University is where Brother Anthony of Taize Community spent more than two decades teaching after arriving in Korea in 1980, upon recommendation from Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan. Oxford University, or the Queen's College, is where he studied from 1960 through 1969, earning his Ph.D. in medieval and modern languages. He also spent nearly 10 years upholding reconciliation as a member of the ecumenical Taize Community in France.
Originally from Cornwall, Brother Anthony, 82, over the years has become a naturalized citizen of Korea, and has taken the Korean name An Son-jae. He has also become a renowned translator of Korean poetry and several novels, as part of the first-generation of foreign translators of Korean literature in Korea. "Professorship stops, and stopped at a point for me, but translation continues," he said. "It's my hobby and I enjoy it."
"I like translating. Translating is interesting. It takes what's in one language and says it in another language," he said. "I also translated French-English literature in France for about 10 years. Translating is transmission of something of one language or culture into another."
His work is receiving renewed attention after Korean writer Han Kang received this year's Nobel Prize in literature. In a way, Brother Anthony could have had a chance to deal more directly with a Korean writer's possible Nobel win earlier, as he has translated many of the Korean poet Ko Un's poems before. Ko was mentioned in the shortlist numerous times as a possible recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature. Brother Anthony says the Swedish Academy likes to keep people guessing about possible candidates without saying why or how they select the winners, and Ko happens to be one of the names sent through this rumor mill.
Having served as a judge for this paper's Korean Literature Translation Awards since 1996, as well as winning the top prize for his translation of Ko's poem, "Headmaster Abe," in 1991, Brother Anthony is more than qualified to speak on literature translation.
"Nobel is not for popularity or for beauty or for beautiful writing. It is more about trouble, contemporary anguish ... the Swedish people like that. Dark, anguished, problematic. Han Kang, that is what is she is writing about, human anguish and alienation, that's her thing," he said. "The Swedish Academy likes that but most people don't."
He added that Han had everything she needed to earn the Nobel Prize in literature.
"The Swedish people choose a writer not necessarily popular or respected. Han is also a woman and a relatively young writer. The Swedish Academy also has had to rebuild their reputation," he said, referring to a sexual abuse scandal that arose in 2016.
He however questioned how an award could suddenly thrust a writer into the spotlight, remarking that it was "bulsang-hada," or pitiable, when asked about Han's Nobel win.
"How many thousand good writers are there in the world? Who can summarily choose one, and put them in the spotlight and give them money as if people should recognize them?" he said.
By sharply cautioning against Nobel hype in Korea, Brother Anthony also focused on how Koreans have been spending less time reading, especially poetry. "People need to have an imaginative capacity or sensibility to read problematic works, you have to be prepared."
A photo of the Manhae Grand Prize for literature displayed on a bookshelf at Brother Anthony's office near Sogang University in western Seoul. Korea Times photo by Kim Ji-soo
This year marks a personal milestone for him, although he dismissed it, saying for him every day, every year, the same passion or vocation of translating continues to lead the way in overcoming division and creating communication and deeper mutual understanding. In the first half of 2024, he received the Manhae Grand Prize Awards for Literature, jointly with poet Kim Yong-taek. Manhae is the pen name for Korean Buddhist monk and poet Han Yong-un.
Translation is complex operation, he said, because Korean poetry is written for Korean readers, and in a way reflects Koreans' relationship with their own language.
"The Korean poetry that a Korean poet writes is different from the way American or British poets write their poetries. Because Koreans are Koreans. The relationship that Koreans have with their language is not the same as that of Americans and British toward their languages," he said.
"It's about being Korean, with links to Korean psyche, which is a psyche of deep trauma, from history. The older generation knows it and the younger generation may not, but will more or less have inherited it."
He sees the older generation cry when folk singer Jang Sa-ik sings. "I think Koreans are happy when they cry," he said jocularly.
In another interview with Chosun monthly magazine two years ago, Brother Anthony had said that Korean sentiment is the "heung (joy) in han (regret)," and "han in heung."
Books by Korean author Han Kang are on display after she was announced as the winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in literature at the Swedish Academy in Stockholm, Sweden, Oct. 10. She was honored "for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life," the Swedish Academy said. AFP-Yonhap
But Brother Anthony acknowledges that "the Nobel prize is a recognition" for Korean work as aspiring writers have long thought that they had to write in English for a global nod. The heightened interest in K-pop, K-films and K-dramas has raised up Korean fiction, too, he believes.
Several decades ago, he had translated Yi Mun-yeol's "The Poet," in Britain. It was published through a well-known publisher and people liked it, he said. "At the time, it was too Korean, when at that time people didn't know much about Korea or care to know about it," he said. That we are living in the age of global literature where people are interested in buying and reading works from all over the world helps Korean literature gain more awareness.
Greater recognition can drive more demand for Korean literature. Yet, he was skeptic about modern writers in Korea. He encouraged younger writers to create sincere, authentic works that are engaging and worthy of future translation. "There should also be beauty of something, in narrative or writing style ... in the works," he said.
"I can only translate what I think is worth translating. Creating authentic, sincere works are the top tasks for future writers," he said.
Unlike Kevin O'Rourke who studied Chinese characters, Brother Anthony said he has not had an adequate opportunity to learn Chinese characters, a reason he focused on modern poems, starting out with Ku Sang. Recommendations from those around him led to the translation of poetry by Seo Jeong-joo, Ko Un, Jeong Ho-seung, and labor poets like Park No-hae.
Publishing poetry does not entail commercial returns, and he laments that Korean readers do not read much in general — especially poetry.
"When I first came to Korea in 1980, Kyobo Book Centre also opened and high school students would sit there on the floor reading poetry," he said, praising its accessibility.
He believes that a good translation is one that readers don't perceive as a translation.
"They read it as a poem or they read it as a novel — as an English poem or English novel," he said. "Koreans always say it has to be close to the original faithful translation. But readability is the only thing that counts. You want to it to be the same work novel or poem. Koreans like to say, 'Oh it's a mistake,' 'It's not relevant.' Readability is important."
He calls himself lucky and happy to live in Korea and continue working on translation. He will publish English works of labor poet Song Kyung-dong (Parlor Press) and that of Jeong Ho-seung (Trio House) in the United States next year.
He will soon start work on popular Korean poet Na Tae-joo as well. Since 2007, Brother Anthony holds the title of emeritus professor at the Department of English Language and Literature at Sogang University. He is also emeritus president of Royal Asiatic Society Korea, having led the Korean studies organization from 2011 to 2020.