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Translation and Standardization of Western Music Terms During Korea’s Turbulent Times After Liberation: Focusing on Composer Geum Su-hyeon’s role as mediator and “Koreanization” of music terms as decolonizing translation strategy

  • The Journal of Translation Studies
  • Abbr : JTS
  • 2020, 21(5), pp.95-128
  • DOI : 10.15749/jts.2020.21.5.004
  • Publisher : The Korean Association for Translation Studies
  • Research Area : Humanities > Interpretation and Translation Studies
  • Received : November 8, 2020
  • Accepted : November 30, 2020
  • Published : December 31, 2020

Park Hyunju 1

1이화여자대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This paper explores composer Geum Su-hyeon’s role in the translation, standardization and dissemination of Western music terms after Korea's liberation from Japan in 1945 through to its turbulent times in the early 1960s. First, his mediating role is examined in the context of those times to show close relationship between his activities and the nation’s efforts to re-establish its foundation after independence. Then, an analysis is conducted on his methods in translating the Western terms into Korean and their implications, focusing on his 1960 publication Pyojun Eumak Sajeon (lit. “Standardized Music Dictionary”), particularly the appended item “The list of obsolete Chinese character-based terms.” The composer is noted for his efforts to create purely Korean terms, while incorporating elements from traditional Korean music. His approach is reflected in the normative dictionary that has served as a model for today's music dictionaries written only in Korean. Apparently Geum's individual work, it was but also compiled in public interests: to disseminate the results of institutional efforts, such as the Koreanized music terms proclaimed “official” in 1947 by the Ministry of Culture and Education and used in school textbooks thereafter. For the composer and his contemporaries in the nation-building era, translating Western music terms into hangeul or Korean alphabet was tantamount to “decolonizing” the country by eliminating the colonial legacy.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.