57th Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards

The Korea Times is inviting translators from around the world to participate in the 57th Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards.

Since 1970, The Korea Times has been dedicated to recognizing excellence in literary translation and promoting Korean literature to a global readership through this annual competition. Many of the leading translators and scholars working in the field today began their careers as winners of the Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards, and The Korea Times looks forward to ushering in a new generation of skilled translators in the years to come.

The annual competition awards English translations of works of contemporary Korean literature in two categories: fiction and poetry.

Submission Guidelines 

Applicants may submit a translation of:

  1. A work of fiction

  2. Ten poems by the same poet. 

Applicants should submit only one entry in either category. 

Fiction 

Candidates should submit an English translation of a short story or the opening chapter of a novel. The first publication date of the original Korean work should be 2000 or later. Longer works are not given preference.

Poetry

Candidates should submit English translations of 10 poems, all by the same poet. The original poems should have been first published in or after 2000.

General Rules 

- Translation should be sent before Aug. 31, 2026, as email attachments in PDF format to ktimes.translation@gmail.com with the subject “The Korea Times Translation Awards.”

- The translator's name, telephone number, mailing address and email address must be given in the body of the email with their submission. However, their names and identifying information must not appear anywhere in the translation text or file. 

- The Korean originals should be scanned and submitted as an attached PDF file along with the translations. Hard copy submission will not be accepted.

- In both categories, the jury will look for accurate and persuasive translations that attempt to render in English the literary merit of significant works of contemporary literature. 

- Submitted translations must not have been published in any form before the submission deadline. Works that have previously been published in English translation must not be retranslated for the contest. 

- The awards do not permit the use of artificial intelligence (AI) assistance. Applicants found to have used AI will be immediately disqualified.

- Candidates are not required to obtain the author’s permission before translating and submitting the work for consideration, though we do recommend contacting the author or their publisher to confirm whether the work is already under contract with another translator. Gaining permission is the responsibility of the translator and The Korea Times is not responsible for any legal disputes that may arise. 

Previous winners of The Korea Times Modern Literature Translation Awards are not eligible to submit entries in the same category. Entries for this competition must not be submitted to any other translation contest in the same year. Winners will be announced in The Korea Times in November. 

The jury’s decision will be final and no correspondence concerning it will be entered into.

All copyright in submissions and prize-winning works belongs to the translators, but portions of the award-winning entries may be published in The Korea Times.

For inquiries: The Korea Times K-Culture Desk at 02-724-2353 or ktimes.translation@gmail.com.