Subtitling Korean Cultural Expressions into English: An Analysis of Translation Strategies in 20th Century Girl (2022)

The global popularity of Korean films and dramas has heightened the demand for high quality subtitle translations. Such translations must preserve both linguistic meaning and cultural authenticity for audiences unfamiliar with Korean culture. Therefore, this study is to examine how Korean culturally specific terms were translated into English subtitles in the film 20th Century Girl (2022), focussing on the strategies used in negotiating meaning between authenticity and accessibility. Using a qualitative content analysis supported by descriptive quantification, 60 culturally significant terms were identified and analysed. Translation strategies were categorised following Newmark's (1988) translation framework and compared with perspectives from Venuti (1995) and Nida (1974) to provide a broader theoretical grounding. The findings reveal eight strategies word-for-word, literal, faithful, semantic, adaptation, free, idiomatic, and communicative translation were employed to varying degrees. Literal and faithful translations to maintain accuracy, but sometimes produced awkward phrasing in English. By contrast, communicative and idiomatic strategies tended to capture tone and emotional nuance more effectively. In situations where no direct equivalent was available, adaptation and free translation were used to convey the intended meaning without losing clarity. These findings suggest that subtitling extends beyond a linguistic task to a cultural act requiring careful negotiation of meaning, tone, and context. By addressing the challenges of cross-cultural communication in subtitling, this study contributes to the growing scholarship on audio visual translation. It also highlights the value of culturally sensitive translation methods in helping global audiences appreciate Korean culture more deeply. Overall, the study offers insights into the challenges of subtitling and underscores the importance of cultural sensitivity for translators, scholars, and practitioners engaged in cross-cultural media.

Audio visual, cultural terms, Korean-to-English translation

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