Participants of the 55th Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards pose during the award ceremony at the Korea Press Center in Jung District, Seoul, Thursday. From top left clockwise are Irish Ambassador to Korea Michelle Winthrop; Korea Times President-Publisher Oh Young-jin; First Vice Culture Minister Yong Ho-seong; KB Kookmin Bank Sales Group Senior Executive Vice President Son Seog-ho; judge Jung Ha-yun, associate professor of interpretation and translation at Ewha Womans University; Nam Seung-ha, the recipient on behalf of Kevin O'Rourke Prize winners Nam Jeong-keun and Nam Seo-jeong; poet Son Young-hee; Poetry Commendation Award winner Lee Jeong-ju; professor Bruce Fulton, the recipient on behalf of Fiction Grand Prize winner Wingshun Pang; and Poetry Grand Prize winner Julie Sohn. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

The Korea Times celebrated its 55th Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards to recognize aspiring translators, which became even more meaningful with the milestone win of Han Kang's Nobel Prize in literature last month.

The award ceremony for the 55th edition of the contest, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and KB Financial Group, was held at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul on Thursday, presenting accolades of two grand prizes, two commendation awards and the new Kevin O'Rourke Award.

"This year's Nobel Prize in literature for Han Kang is not just for our literary community but also a national celebration. It means that people around the world have seen, felt and been moved by our literature. And there's something to take a moment to consider. How could a writer writing in Korean … a language used by only about 70 million people, receive the Nobel Prize? The answer can be found here today," The Korea Times President-Publisher Oh Young-jin said during the ceremony.

"I believe that you, who passionately translate Korean novels and poems for the world to enjoy and sometimes spends countless hours finding the most suitable word or the perfect sentence, have become the foundation for Han Kang's Nobel Prize win … There is more work to be done to introduce more Korean writers and their works to the world. Let's do it together."

Wingshun Pang won the highest honor, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award, as well as the Grand Prize in fiction, for her translation of Kim Cho-yeop's novel, "Why Don't the Pilgrims Come Back." Pang expressed gratitude through an acceptance speech delivered through professor Bruce Fulton, who is also a three-time recipient of the award himself.

"The Korean language has always held a special place in my heart since my Korean Canadian childhood friend exposed me to it more than 10 years ago," Fulton said on behalf of Pang. "I look forward to continue learning about the fascinating enigma of Korean language and culture and to having more opportunities to share it with the world."

Julie Sohn, who won the Grand Prize in poetry for her translation of Choi Seung-ho's poems, shared her excitement to join the work of fellow translators in bringing Korean literature to global readers as a novice in the field without formal training.

"During this experience, I was surprised by how translating literature is truly a labor of the world, it could not be done without having a love for art, both languages and a love for two cultures … It goes without saying that this is an exciting time for Korean literature and I personally cannot wait to see the incredible work that will be made in the future," she said.

"This is why I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the translators who have allowed Korean literature to receive the recognition that it deserves and have inspired me to work toward making a contribution to this field."

Judge Jung Ha-yun delivers her remarks during the award ceremony. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

The Commendation Award in fiction went to Julie Wi, who could not attend the ceremony. She translated Park Ji-young's short story "To My Pet Rice Cooker, Cuckoo."

Shane Ingan and Lee Jeong-ju received the Commendation Award in poetry for their translation of Shin Kyeong-nim's poems.

Thanking her late mother for encouraging her passion for literature, Lee expressed her excitement about sharing Shin's resonating voice with a global audience.

"It is because of her that I started learning foreign languages, and I grew to want to share the beauty of Korean literature with other parts of the world," she said.

"Now, in many ways, Shin's voice is (everyone's) voice, and it's our voice, unromanticized and unfiltered. He tells the truth everywhere and always of the human community to which we all belong. Suffering and struggling, living and dying, dreaming and gobbling, remembering, forgetting and remembering again … It is truly a privilege to read and translate it and we look forward to sharing more of it with the world."

This year welcomed a special award, in collaboration with the Embassy of Ireland in Korea, to honor the late Kevin O'Rourke, who was a distinguished translator of Korean literature. As part of the ceremony, Irish Ambassador to Korea Michelle Winthrop recited two poems O'Rourke wrote — "The Road to Uijongbu" and "Spring."

The inaugural award went to Nam Jeong-keun and Nam Seo-jeong, a brother-sister duo who translated Son Young-hee's poems. The recipients shared that the award feels even more special as it recognized their translation work for Son, who is also their aunt.

Irish Ambassador to Korea Michelle Winthrop recites Kevin O'Rourke's poems during the ceremony. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

"I am truly delighted to be able to introduce the depth and emotion of 'Where Did All Heartbeats in the World Go' by my aunt and poet Son. I spent much time worrying about how to fully convey the meaning of the work of an author I've always admired," Nam Seung-ha, the siblings' father, said on behalf of the recipients.

"Professor Kevin O'Rourke has provided a valuable platform for Korean literature to communicate with the world, and through this, cultural understanding and exchange between the two countries will deepen further. I will strive to further promote the unique light and beauty of Korean literature to the world."

The three judges — Ewha Womans University professor of interpreting and translation Jung Ha-yun, Stanford University associate professor of Korean literature Dafna Zur and award-winning translator Janet Hong — shared that they hope the awards will provide a community to aspiring translators, as it did for them, as each of them are award recipients themselves.

"(The award) has given a sense of community, showing that there are people who have made a career out of introducing Korean literature in English and that they can receive such recognition. I believe the Nobel Prize in literature was truly the fruit of (the award's) 55 years of growth, mutual encouragement, support and solidarity," Jung said.

"Therefore, I hope this mission will continue and that this community will become more active, more cohesive and remain a community where we can support each other. There were so many excellent submissions this year that the judging process was enjoyable."

Yong Ho-seong, the first vice minister of culture, presented the Minister's Award to Pang on behalf of Minister Yu In-chon. As an academic translator himself, Yong congratulated the winners for the recognition of their hard work.

"I know how thrilling, enjoyable and happy it is to transfer the original author's sensibility into a new language through translation. It feels so rewarding to see readers access these works in English and gain different forms of useful knowledge through them," he said, noting that the government will do its best to support the future of literature translation.

"The government provides comprehensive support not only for literary publication and creation but also for publishing distribution, overseas marketing and IP (intellectual property) exports, along with various translation-related fields. Therefore, the government will continue to provide support so that our translators and authors can work in more comfortable and better conditions."