Two people connected in the forest of language

The unique correspondence between Japanese translator Saito Mariko and South Korean translator and writer Jeong Su-yoon has blossomed into a published collection of letters, offering a profound exploration of language, literature, and the translator's craft. Titled "Word Tag," their exchange, which began in the spring of 2024 and spans two years, is being serialized in "Sekai," a monthly magazine published by Japan's Iwanami Shoten.

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The translator's work is solitary, yet there is a "sense of liberation" that only translators can feel.

Saito, known for her Japanese translations of prominent Korean authors like Han Kang and Cho Se-hui, describes the translator's work as a solitary yet liberating process. She emphasizes the physical sensation of her body "hardening" as she immerses herself in the nuances of a written text. To deepen her connection with Han Kang's novel "Farewell Unsaid," Saito even visited the novel's settings in Jeju Island, walking through the villages of Wimi-ri and Gasi-ri.

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I feel my body 'hardening' as I breathe in and out the sentences someone else has written.

Jeong, who has translated works by Japanese authors such as Osamu Dazai into Korean and is also a novelist and essayist, has long viewed Saito as a "great tree." Their monthly letters traverse Korean and Japanese spaces and times, engaging in a "game of tag" with words. They discuss literature, art, history, and societal issues, creating a dialogue that transcends geographical and linguistic boundaries.

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Jeong Su-yoon, who has translated works by authors like Cho Se-hui, Han Kang, Park Min-gyu, Hwang Jeong-eun, and Jeong Serang into Japanese, is also a poet who has published a collection of Korean poetry. Jeong Su-yoon, who remembers Saito Mariko from her Korean poem 'Photosynthesis,' has long regarded this senior translator as a 'great tree-like presence.'

The project particularly illuminates the specific challenges and joys of translation. Both translators grapple with the "agony of the tagger" when attempting to capture not just the literal meaning but also the wisdom and unique rhythms of regional dialects, such as translating Jeju dialect into Okinawan dialect. This shared experience of navigating the "forest of language" creates a deep sense of connection between them, even when physically apart, underscoring the profound human element within the seemingly solitary act of translation.

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The agony of the 'tagger' who wants to reproduce not only the dialect of the islanders but also their wisdom and unique rhythm of speech, is a sensation that only those who have struggled in the same situation can understand.