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Abstract:

Both linguistically and culturally, English and Korean share little common ground; thus, finely nuanced localization is critical. Confucian teachings permeate Korea even more than China, his birthplace. The Korean language cultivates elaborate honorifics to serve a rigid, hierarchical social structure. For a Korean to become friends with anyone older or younger than himself is inconceivable. But American creative works embrace egalitarian ideals: society functions on a first-name basis. This practice poses a dilemma; must we distort original intent to conform to Korean norms or help expose the audience to cultural diversity? Cases involving film subtitling/dubbing will be examined.