LTI Korea accepting applications for translation academy

The Literature Translation Institute, Korea’s Translation Academy is accepting applications for the 2023 academic year, which begins this August.

The academy offers a two-year program in the translation of Korean literary and cultural texts such as films and webtoons, into seven languages -- English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Japanese.

About 70 students will be accepted -- about 10 students per language. The classes for the 15-week semester will be held in person at the LTI Korea in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

This year’s lecturers will include acclaimed translators such as Jamie Chang, whose English translation of Cho Nam-joo’s “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982” was nominated for the 2020 National Book Awards; Yoon Sun-me, who won the 2018 San Clemente Literary Award for her Spanish translation of Han Kang’s “The Vegetarian”; and Darcy Paquet, the English translator of the Oscar-winning Korean film “Parasite.”

The state-run center committed to promoting Korean literature worldwide also provides academic or employment opportunities for its enrolled students and graduates to work as professional translators in various fields from literary publishers, agencies and platforms to film production companies.

Over 13,000 students have graduated from the Translation Academy, which was established in 2008.

Graduates include Sora Kim-Russell, who won the 2018 Shirley Jackson Award for Pyun Hye-young’s “The Hole”; So J. Lee, who was shortlisted for the 2022 Sarah Maguire Prize for Poetry for Lee Hye-mi’s “Unexpected Vanilla”; Maria Kuznetsova,, who was nominated for 2022 Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award for translating Hwang Sok-young’s “At Dusk” into Russian; and Anton Hur, longlisted and shortlisted for two 2022 International Booker Prizes for translating Bora Chung’s “Cursed Bunny” and Park Sang-young’s “Love in the City.”

The application period is from April 3 to April 21.

Two online sessions introducing the Translation Academy will be streamed live at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Friday, on LTI Korea’s official YouTube channel. There, the academy will hold information sessions on the admissions process, curriculum as well as a Q&A session.