한국의 군사통역 현황과 장래 교육 방향 연구

Abstract

This paper casts a glance at the history of military interpreting and the progress of military interpreting education in Korea. Until recently, military interpreting was not stematically taught in terms of content and interpreting skills. Commissioned interpreting officers had to acquire knowledge and interpreting skills through unstructured on-the-job-training, which added more difficulty to their tasks. The Korea Defense Language Institute was established in 2012 to suit the needs of military interpreters who needed more systematic education and training. For military interpreting, several types of interpreters have been deployed, including professional, inhouse, and ad-hoc interpreters. Given the nature and characteristics of military interpreting, it turned out that inhouse-type interpreter would be most suitable and desirable. The Korean expatriates who join the Korean Air Force from abroad, for example, to complete their compulsory military service have proved that inhouse interpreting is quite viable. However, their short term of required service does not allow them to provide quality interpreting long enough in the army. On the other hand, career officers do not want to serve as interpreter for long in consideration of their career management. In this regard, the warrant officer system for interpreting and translation has recently been introduced for stable and long-term deployment of military interpreters and translators. It seems to be a laudable movement for more efficient and better quality interpreting and translation in the military. In order for the newly-established system to take root and pay off, some parts in education process need to be complemented to improve the current situation and enhance the level of Korea's military language services.