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Literature translation institute to open specialized grad school next year

Published: 28 Apr. 2026, 13:32

This file photo, provided by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, shows its logo. [YONHAP]

The Literature Translation Institute (LTI) of Korea on Tuesday announced a plan to establish a graduate school next year in efforts to nurture more translators specializing in Korean literature, officials said.

The LTI has launched a nine-member committee to push for the project, with members including poet and former Culture Minister Do Jong-hwan, and renowned novelists Hwang Sok-yong and Eun Hee-kyung, according to officials from the state-run agency.

Darcy Paquet, a U.S. film critic who translated the dialogue for the English subtitles of the Oscar-winning black comedy thriller "Parasite," is another member of the committee launched Tuesday.

Under the plan, the LTI plans to establish master's degree courses across seven languages, including English, French and Chinese, and to introduce a post-doctorate course going forward.

It plans to pick a total of 60 students — 30 Korean nationals and 30 foreign students — in the first half of next year so they can begin their first academic term in September, officials said.

The LTI has played a central role in nurturing literary translators since its foundation in 1996.

Overseas sales of Korean books, supported by the LTI's translation and publication program, reached 1.2 million copies last year, 2.3 times the figure of the previous year, according to the LTI. The number of Korean books translated by the LTI hit a record 194 last year, up from 15 in 2001.

Yonhap