360 Yun Woos Translator 2 (1/2)
Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl
”All done?”
”Yes,” Juho replied, putting his phone back in his pocket. With his eyes fixed on the phone, Nam Kyung asked light-heartedly, ”A friend?”
”Yep,” Juho said, nodding.
”Is this the same person who wants to be a translator?”
”That's the one.”
”Is he going to compete in the contest?”
”It appears so.”
Although they were the only people in the apartment, the editor looked around the living room and asked, ”Did you make that suggestion with this friend in mind?”
Chuckling quietly, Juho replied, ”If I had, then I would've brought up his name. I would've volunteered to be one of the judges too.”
”And the contest definitely would've looked a lot different,” Nam Kyung said, waving the project's data in his hand.
The contest was open to anyone who made a submission through email, which would be a translation of a short English sample written by Juho. There were going to be ten contestants for the judging panel, and the judges would choose the winners based on the translations submitted to the publisher.
”I hope we get a lot of partic.i.p.ants.”
”I don't think we'll have to worry about that, Mr. Woo,” Nam Kyung said, chuckling and lifting the data in his hand.
”This is your translation of the online sample, right?”
”That's right.”
Juho had made the sample and translated it.
”If we get a submission that comes even remotely close to this, I wouldn't think twice about choosing that person,” Nam Kyung said, groaning.
”We might get something even better. You never know.”
”No, this is THE most ideal translation. I'm certain of it,” the editor said, darting back and forth between the original and the translated copy. He seemed genuinely impressed. ”I don't know how you do it, but you keep impressing me over and over again! What do you think about giving translating one more shot?”
”No, thanks.”
”Or, maybe you could make a submission yourself?”
”That does sound like a fun idea, but if I win, I'm gonna have to do the translation myself.”
”So, you ARE confident that you'd win, huh?”
Juho didn't deny it. Meanwhile, Nam Kyung was still staring at the two samples.
”Are you looking for somebody who could do an even better job than this?” the editor asked.
”Of course.”
”Maybe you should just do it yourself. It's still not too late, you know.”
”I respectfully decline.”
Then, as Nam Kyung placed the two samples on the table, Juho followed them with his eyes.
”I suppose it would be best if we looked for something that stayed true to the original, huh?”
After some thought, Juho replied, ”I don't know. I find myself impressed whenever I come across a good liberal translation.”
Nam Kyung seemed to understand the young author. As long as languages and cultures were different, liberal translations were a necessity.
”I think I still prefer translations that stay true to the original. Especially with your books. As a reader myself, I'd want what I'm reading to be as close to the original as possible,” the editor said emphatically, as if he disagreed with the young author. Juho remembered Seo Kw.a.n.g's translation. When the author had seen it for the first time, it had felt like his translation had stayed true to the original on one hand, while reading like it had been translated liberally on the other. Seo Kw.a.n.g had been nurturing his translation skill at a truly frightening rate, and when Juho remembered that, he stopped thinking about it, as it felt no longer necessary. If Seo Kw.a.n.g had been developing when Juho had first seen his translation, then he had to be even better now.
”This is exciting,” Juho said genuinely.
--
”Yun Woo's sample,” Juho murmured the t.i.tle of the article and clicked on it. There were already a myriad of poorly-translated samples floating around the internet. Given that people had grown curious about the short sample written by Yun Woo, it wasn't surprising. Every blog that had anything to do with the author contained a slew of its members' attempts at translating the sample.
”What would Hong Sam have to say?”
Juho logged into Hong Sam's blog. Although a university student, Seo Kw.a.n.g was still pretending to be an office worker in his blog. The most recent post was a month old, and the blogger had written about a certain Nebulwinning author, along with the recent scandal surrounding the Hugo award.
”He really is a good writer.”
What Seo Kw.a.n.g lacked were creativity and the stamina that would sustain him when writing for an extended period of time. His personal preference of reading-over-writing also seemed to play a role in his struggle as a writer. Nevertheless, Seo Kw.a.n.g was an outstanding writer. On top of that, his vocabulary and comprehension were also quite impressive. Given that he tended to invest most of his time on reading, it made sense. While the blog introduced a slew of different books, it also came with the blogger's own opinions and interpretations. Starting from the most recent one, Juho read through them one by one. Every single one of them was meticulous and sincere, making it clear that the blogger had read the books prior to reviewing them. It was very Seo Kw.a.n.g-like. Then, shortly after, Juho came across his name on the blog.
”'Language of G.o.d: The Glory of Traitor.'”
Aside from the t.i.tle, the first thing that stood out was the five-star rating next to it. Clicking into it, Juho scrolled down to the bottom, where Seo Kw.a.n.g's thoughts on the book tended to be. It wasn't too different from what he had told Juho in person. However, there was a name there that Juho hadn't expected to came across.
”Jenkins' role.”
Seo Kw.a.n.g's opinion was as follow: ”If Jenkins hadn't been there…? I couldn't help but ask myself that question. There is no arguing that Jenkins' recent movie was a ma.s.sive success and that it lived well up to its reputation. Not only is Jenkins a skilled director, but he's also a genius. On top of that, I am confident that he's a reader who understands books through a clear set of standards. I have actually come across a number of people (who refused to read 'Language of G.o.d' because it was a book) who told me that watching Jenkins' film adaptation actually made them fall in love with the original novel series. What if Jenkins hadn't been there? Would 'The Glory of Traitor' have been as popular as it is now? Would 'Language of G.o.d' look any different? Would the series be on a completely different path?”
”If Jenkins hadn't addressed Yun Woo as the Great Storyteller, would that have meant that the author wouldn't have been great?”
”Personally, I have trouble keeping myself from a.s.sociating his name with a snapping turtle. Have you ever asked yourself why those animals exist?'”
(TL's Note: When p.r.o.nounced in Korean, Jenkins' first name, Zara, has the same sound as the Korean word for snapping turtle/Chinese softsh.e.l.l turtle: Jara.)
”... What the heck are you saying, man?”
Then, while Juho was preoccupied with interpreting a seemingly out of place exposition, a text message notification sounded from his phone. It was Nam Kyung saying that there were over eight hundred submissions thus far. 'I wonder if Seo Kw.a.n.g's is one of them,' Juho wondered, hoping that it would be. At that moment, his phone started ringing.
”h.e.l.lo?”
”Hey.”
It was Baron, whose voice made it sound like he was in good spirits.