In this course students gain experience in using various approaches to study the roles of translation in the development of children’s literature and films in North and South Korea. While the two countries share cultural traditions, their socio-political systems lead them to import and use foreign materials, as well as to export their own materials, in different ways.
Children’s literature in Korea began to develop in the early twentieth century when translators imported foreign works aimed to educate young people about the necessity of building a modern nation. The volumes of translated stories for children which appeared in the 1920s and 30s presented new concepts of childhood, family and citizenship.
Since the late 1940s in the North children’s literature and films have aimed to train future citizens to be loyal to the leaders and to contribute to the flourishing of the socialist society. In the South these genres serve various purposes including educational and moral preparation for the contemporary world and fostering imagination. Traditional and modern Korean works are being translated into foreign languages. Subtitles and dubbing are used in North and South Korean films which are exported as well as in imported foreign films.
Students will become familiar with approaches to children’s literature and films, film theory and translation studies.
Topics covered will include background on and translation of children’s literature and films in North and South Korea, use of subtitles vs. dubbing, children’s literature and films as indoctrination/education, exportation/importation of children’s genres and national image building.