Adelle Wee Xing Min, a Singaporean student at the Literature Translation Institute of Korea's (LTI Korea) Translation Academy in Seoul, has won the Fiction Commendation Award at the 56th Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards. Among the five winners of this prestigious award, Wee stands out for her remarkable dedication and singular focus on literary translation, representing a new generation of translators bridging Korean and English literature.
Wee's journey into professional translation began in an unexpected place - the K-pop fan community. "I actually started out doing fansubs and translating social media posts for an idol group I really liked," Wee explained. "There were only a couple of fan translators because the fan base was really small, and fans would have to wait hours and sometimes days before they could read an accurate English translation." This experience motivated her to help bridge the communication gap between non-Korean-speaking fans and their favorite idols.
Her passion for translation grew through countless hours of volunteer work in the fan community. "So I started subtitling and translating their content to try to shorten the wait time and bridge the gap between non-Korean-speaking fans and the idols they loved so much," she recalled. "I remember staying up all night subtitling their videos back when VLIVE was a thing, and I really enjoyed it. Then one day, it hit me that it would be fun to actually do translation for a living, so I decided to start learning it professionally."
Before joining the Translation Academy, Wee built a strong academic foundation in language studies. She earned her master's degree in Korean-English translation from Ewha Womans University, following an undergraduate degree in linguistics. This educational background provided her with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills necessary to pursue professional literary translation.
For the award-winning submission, Wee chose to translate "Aeon," a science fiction short story by novelist Choi Hee-ra. Her selection of this particular work reflected her personal fascination with technology and its ethical implications. "Ever since I learned about self-driving cars, a tiny part of my brain has always wondered who or what would be to blame if it injures or kills a human being while driving on the road, or if it's possible for someone (or something) to even take full responsibility for such accidents," she explained.
The story resonated deeply with Wee's concerns about artificial intelligence and technological advancement. "I eventually chose to translate this short story because it seemed to share my thoughts and worries regarding AI and the advancement of technology," she said. The translation work allowed her to explore these complex themes while honing her craft as a literary translator.
One of the most challenging aspects of the translation proved to be the story's title itself. "Translating the title was definitely one of the most challenging aspects of translating this work," Wee noted. "Yeongwon means forever in Korean, but it also sounds ordinary enough for native Korean speakers to just look at it and go 'Oh, nice name,' instead of doing a double take as native English speakers might do if we see a name like Forever or Eternity." After extensive consideration, she settled on "Aeon," adding with a touch of humor, "I spent a very long time just trying to find the right way to translate the name. I eventually went with Aeon, and I'm glad I use British English because I prefer this spelling over the American Eon."
Completing the translation and winning the award has reinforced Wee's beliefs about the irreplaceable value of human creativity in an age of advancing artificial intelligence. "I strongly believe that AI is as dangerous as it is convenient, and that some jobs should be left to humans," she stated. "It's ironic that I'm saying this as translation is one of the jobs that people say is becoming redundant because of AI, but it's important to remember that the human touch in literature isn't something that can be easily replicated, and it might be a problem if we think our creations are better than we are."
This recent victory marks the second major recognition for Wee's translation work. Having won both the LTI Translation Award for Aspiring Translators last year and now a Modern Korean Literature Translation Award this year, she feels more confident than ever about her chosen career path. "My journey thus far has been very exciting," she said. "Winning these awards has only propelled me further to pursue literary translation." Her success story demonstrates how passion projects in fan communities can evolve into professional expertise and recognition in the literary world.
