The realities of Korean culture and The literary translation (using Park Kyongni’s novel "Daughters of pharmacist Kim" as an example)

Abstract

Famous South Korean writer Park Kyongni’s novel «Daughters of Pharmacist Kim» covers the period from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century which was tragic for Korean people and their social norms because of the Japanese occupation. It depicts particularly the religious beliefs of Korean people, the relationships in the society and the family, the role of the woman, and the daily life of people of different social groups (aristocrats, the wealthy, servants). The objective of this article is to critically analyze the translation of the novel that touches upon many phenomena exotic for most Russian readers, such as the national identity of Korean culture or the material and spiritual life of Korean society. The comparison of the Korean and the Russian texts shows that the translation of some ethnographic realia does not quite match the original. For example, some words related to the following phenomena are translated incorrectly: Korean traditional underfloor heating (ondol), superstitions, Koreans’ religious beliefs and their perception of ancestors’ spirits, supernatural forces, mourning ceremonies, and attire worn to a funeral. In addition to believing in ancestors’ spirits, Koreans also believed in prophecies. For example, children of someone who died of arsenic poisoning were believed to be destined to leave no male offspring. This prophecy comes true in the novel: Pharmacist Kim’s first son dies in childhood and six daughters are born afterwards. Koreans paid special attention to shamans and believed in their supernatural essence. To this day, Koreans’ religious beliefs dating back to ancient times and various folk beliefs peacefully coexist with other world religions. In modern South Korea, people still observe customs and traditions related to funeral rites and wakes, they fear and revere the spirits of the dead, and perform «feeding ancestors’ spirits» ceremonies twice a year on certain days chosen according to the lunar calendar. In addition to the shortcomings of the Russian translation described above, some dialectal items of the Southern province Kyungsan-do are translated incorrectly, and so are occasionally rendered the rules of the traditional verbal etiquette. It may be considered as a gross error because the latter are anchored in the very essence of Korean language and make up an important part of Korean mentality. Conclusion. So, this analysis of conveying background information through Korean realia in the novel «Daughters of Pharmacist Kim» confirms the theorists’ conclusion that the translator must know background cultural information of the source text. Errors and flaws found in the translation of some ethnographic realia show that those errors and flaws are not likely to affect significantly the novel’s content or its artistic value. At the same time, the fictional quality of the novel is affected by the lack of translator’s knowledge of its dialectal peculiarities and some facts of non-material culture related to customs, elements of cult and public relations among Koreans. All of the above leads to the incorrect perception of some cultural realia of Korea described in the novel of Korean classic writer Park Kyongni.