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| A menu tag describes fried yellowtail as "fried defense" in this photo taken at an unidentified restaurant in 2013. Yellowtail is pronounced in Korean "Bang-uh," which also means defense. Such mismatched Korean-English translations are found on many restaurant menus. / Korea Times file |
Guideline will ensure correct English translation of Korean dishes
By Park Si-soo
What would you imagine if you read "six times" written on a restaurant menu as the name of a dish? Or how about "dynamic stew" or "mountain bowl"?
These are carelessly translated English names of Korean foods that have caused many foreigners to burst into laughter. These mistranslations occur because people ignorant of the English language translated the names of dishes from Korean, without consulting linguistic experts.
Some of these awkward eyebrow-raising names have gone viral on social networking websites, drawing unwelcome attention. Nevertheless the names are still found at many restaurants here, including upscale places.
Despite criticism, restaurants have been unable to correct them due to a lack of language specialists committed to supervising English-language menus.
Against this backdrop, the government has taken a bold step to get things right, in coordination with the Korean Food Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to overseas promotion of Korean food.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Monday that the two organizations have jointly translated 50 of the most sought-after Korean dishes into English. A guidebook containing the names was distributed to nearly 3,300 restaurants across the country, according to the ministry.
In the guidelines, "six times" becomes "beef tartare," while "dynamic stew" is "Pollack stew" and "mountain bowl", "wild vegetable bibimbap."
"This is the first step to get Korean food names written correctly in English," a ministry official said. "There are still many things that need to be done. We will make continuing efforts to promote Korean food with correct names, which will contribute to elevating its international profile and awareness."
