[시사매거진] The Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (KPIPA) is hosting the 2021 K-Book Translation Contest open to resident foreigners in South Korea.

This year’s Translation Contest is organized under the slogan of Reading Korea, Bridging Cultures in an aim to increase the international attention to Korean publications and expand the base of international exchange. The contest is open to non-professional resident foreigners who are interested in Korean culture and publications; and thus those who have received any official translation support or published translation work in the applicable language in the past are not eligible for the contest.

Books for the contest are as follows: Convenience store written by Ryu Yeon-Woong et al. (published by Safehouse); Language of mythology written by Cho Hyun-soul (published by Hanibook); Father Jeong Yak-yong’s life lecture: How Dasan taught his son written by Jeong Yak-yong, Oh Se-jin (published by Hongik Publishing); Equality, the name of an understanding mind written by Oh Jun-ho (published by Thoughts and Feelings); and, If math is this beautiful written by Choi Young-ki (published by Book21). Contest applicants shall choose one language among English, (Simplified) Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese for one of the books listed above.

Total KRW 54 million cash prize will be given to 38 award winners who are selected for their work excellence. There will be 4 Grand prize winners, one winner per language, and each winner will be awarded KRW 3 million in cash. Each winner of the Excellence prize (2 winners per language) and Merit prize (8 winners for English, Simplified Chinese and 5 winners for Spanish, Vietnamese) will also receive KRW 2 million and KRW 1 million, respectively, The selected works will be compiled and published as a collection of award-winning translations after the winners are announced in November.

Applications are received from Jul. 19 (Mon.) until Oct. 15 (Fri.) and the manuscripts shall be submitted on the official contest website. Applicants can check detailed information about the contest from the website including notifications, application guidelines, eligibility criteria and document forms.

A KPIPA executive said, “I wish that the 2021 K-Book Translation Contest will serve as an opportunity to stimulate international cultural exchange through publications,” and added, “We are looking forward to active participation of many resident foreigners in South Korea.”

임연지 기자 kkh911226@gmail.com

새시대 새언론 시사매거진