Interpreting in POW Camps in the Korean War: The Case of Zhang Zeshi

Abstract

Interpreting in POW camps in the Korean War is explored by presenting a case study of Zhang Zeshi, a Chinese soldier who served as a Chinese-English interpreter for POW camp authorities of the United Nations Command. Zhang’s decision to interpret for his enemy can be attributed to many factors, but above all, his political agenda, and thus interpreting is not a neutral zone here in the POW camps and interpreters are not neutral beings, which will further explain the ways in which Zhang had made use of interpreting as resistance. But such a role had posed challenges for his group identity within POW camps and particularly when he returned to the People’s Republic of China after the war. It is argued that faced with extreme situations of violent conflict, such as the case in POW camps, interpreters can choose to use their bilingualism to mediate, to negotiate, in the best interests of his own and his allies, so it is unfair to regard interpreters as traitors indiscriminately, as is often the case in situations of violent conflict, and it is better to assess their role in a comprehensive way.