Folklore translation marks the beginning of literary infusion of Korean Peninsula into China. After 1949, however, the North Korean literature was chosen by the mainland while the South was favored by Taiwan. The North Korean literature in 1950s and 1...
Folklore translation marks the beginning of literary infusion of Korean Peninsula into China. After 1949, however, the North Korean literature was chosen by the mainland while the South was favored by Taiwan. The North Korean literature in 1950s and 1960 was fully translated and thoroughly studied in mainland china. The South Korean literature was introduced only after the opening-up, under the name of South Korean literary translation. In 1990s, after the normalization of China-South Korean diplomatic relations, the South Korean translation slowly gained its permanence while the North Korean translation came to an end. In Taiwan the South Korean literature has always been the only option but it started to decline since 1990s. Literary translation is a purposeful cultural activity and it is always affected by politics and culture. While the translation in the cold war was usually oriented by the national political need, the post-cold-war translation largely reflects the literary need of people. The literary need of the targeted country eventually decides the genre, quantity and content of translation. And the translation process is also affected by the translators and their cultures. Therefore the cultural significance will vary when a piece of literature is translated into another language. Thus the proposition of including translated works into the national literature history is not at all insensible.