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Journal Central

Boyoon Jang and Jiun Huh (2026). A study of interpreters’ and public perceptions of professional interpreting: A case study of the Coupang hearing. This study examines the respective perception of professional interpreting among interpreters and the general public, focusing on the interpreting performed during the 2025 National Assembly hearing on the corporation Coupang. It aims to explore both convergences and divergences between the two perceptions. Public perceptions were examined through keyword analysis and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling of comments posted on YouTube videos related to the Coupang hearing. Interpreters’ perceptions were explored through interviews with six interpreters from diverse professional backgrounds. The findings revealed both shared and differing views between the public and interpreters regarding the role of interpreting, interpretation quality, interpreters’ impartiality and ethics, respect for professionalism, and politicians’ English proficiency. Notably, interpreters emphasized the need to establish clear protocols for the use of interpreting in public communication settings. Based on these findings, the study proposes guidelines for the effective use of interpreting in these contexts. (Ewha Womans University, Korea)

Munjung Bae and NaBee Yoon (2026). Toward an improved management system for professional healthcare interpreters: Focus group interviews with key stakeholders. This study examines how effectively South Korea's professional healthcare interpreter management system operates in practice and proposes directions for improvement. Focus group interviews (FGI) were conducted with four stakeholder groups: healthcare interpreting practitioners, medical institution staff, healthcare interpreter trainers, and exam developers. The findings revealed four common issues across all groups: ambiguity in roles and responsibilities; insufficient alignment among training, certification exams and actual practice; limited institutional incentives; and inadequate post-certification support and career development pathways. To address these issues, the study proposes a continuing education and recertification system for certified interpreters, a short-term training track for uncertified interpreters, and a centralized workforce pool managed by a public institution. It also recommends the development of certified interpreters as trainers to enhance the practical relevance of training programs, along with policy incentives for medical institutions, such as hospital accreditation and financial support, in order to encourage the hiring of certified interpreters. (Yeungnam University, Korea Human Resource Development Institute for Health and Welfare)

Jagyeong Kim (2026). An interview-based study of AI-assisted web novel translation and human roles therein. This study examines the adoption of AI in Korean web novel translation, focusing on its potential and limitations, current workflows, the competencies required of revisers, and the emerging roles of translators. Based on interviews with industry professionals from two companies developing AI-assisted translation platform for web novels, the study found that AI demonstrates a strong potential for improving translation efficiency; however, translation quality control remains a significant challenge. As a result, current workflows continue to rely on a combination of AI translation and human revision. The findings suggest that revisers require not only linguistic proficiency but also genre literacy, cultural sensitivity, and localization competence. In addition, new professional roles are emerging in the industry, including highly proficient web novel translators, AI translation quality-control specialists, localization experts, and project managers. The study highlights the continued importance of human expertise in AI-assisted translation environments and underscores the need for industry-linked education programs tailored to web novel translation. (Seoil University, Korea)