김억의 번역론 연구 - 근대문학의 장(場)과 번역자의 과제

Abstract

In the beginning of the Korean modern literature since 1910's, Kim Eok played a crucial role as a translator for foreign literature and theory. During the acceptance of foreign literature, Kim realized the importance of translation and he is considered an intellectual who, as opposed to other contemporary translators, performed a bulk of translations from various countries. He was in the lead of balancing content and form, reforming he literary circles of translation in which there was abundance of arbitrary interpretations and content-concentrated translations. However, Kim Eok's translated works have been devalued by reason of erroneous and liberal translation of original works and inapt understanding. Researchers generally examine original and translated texts in tandem, after which they point out problems of the translations and attribute them to the translators' lack of capacity. The study of this paper presupposes that in-depth understanding of translated texts can be carried out only when the theory and practice of translation go in parallel. It argues that the negative evaluation for Kim's translations can be reconsidered through the study of theory. Kim argued for 'creative liberal translation,' and this paper investigates the formation and characteristics of this standpoint. This paper particularly looks into how symbolism, which Kim embraced, influenced Kim's view on translation. The acceptance of symbolism and the theory of translation are discussed in regard to the theory of translation maintained by Bejamin, a German literary critic who lived around the same time, in his book The Task of the Translator. The paper also examines Kim Eok's theory of translation in the sense that the act of translating foreign languages expands and deepens a mother tongue, which provides an opportunity to form and develop the self-identity. Kim's viewpoint on translation, which searches for the nature of poems, found modern poetic language for the Korean poetry, which was possible due to his exploration into language that represents this nature. Translating the western poems in the initial stage of modern literature implies admission and conveyance of heterogeneous culture, beyond simple written text, and creation of new culture. Kim Eok's translated works shows the creativity of cultural translation that is generated at the intersection of internal and external cultures. The literary world after 1920's, via translations, could realize the identity of modern literature by means of dialogue with others, i.e. dialogue between tradition and the West. Furthermore, it could have a foundation in creation of new culture. Along these lines of modern literature, Kim Eok's theory of translation presented ‘creative liberal translation’ and ‘creative translation’ as the task and direction for those who do the translation, including himself. It was an aspect of cultural action that Kim's theory evidently showed through translation.