(Mis)translations of Foreign Film Titles in South Korea

Abstract

This chapter explores how translation of foreign film titles has been carried out in South Korea since the first importation of foreign films to Korea following its emancipation from Japanese colonial rule. When the titles of foreign films get translated into other languages, however, the results can be downright strange, weird, surreal—at best funny. With reference to audiovisual translation in general and film or screen translation in particular, this chapter discusses the extent of the mistakes made by Korean translators due to a lack of thorough contextual knowledge of the source language and culture. The chapter concludes that, in an era of globalization, film title translations in Korea increasingly show a trend toward transliteration rather than translation—either literal or liberal.