I participated in the 2026 Seoul International Writers’ Festival. Over the course of a week, 14 Korean authors and 10 international authors gathered in Insadong to engage in various dialogues, workshops, and collaborative programs. This year’s theme was “Who Are You?”—a phrase that intrigued me due to its varying interpretations depending on who speaks or listens, the context and situation, and the language into which it is translated.
I engaged in two dialogues, one of which was with translator Page Morris, the co-translator of the English edition of Han Kang’s *We Do Not Part*. For this festival, he translated a portion of my novel *‘Beginner’s Korean’*, which has yet to be translated and published in English. Thanks to this, we were able to discuss language, boundaries, and translation.
He asked how my experiences and perspectives as an immigrant connect to my works, including *‘Beginner’s Korean’*. I responded that while my narrow definition of diaspora experience was only three years spent living in the U.S., in a broader sense, I have always been like an immigrant. “Everyone leaves their hometown to live, and since we all share the same destination of death, we are all immigrants in a way,” I said. He then mentioned that his current life in Korea feels similar. The question “Who Are You?” was a significant and profound one for me in the U.S. and for him in Korea.
Toward the end of the event, I heard news about the Translation Academy of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, where he studied and now teaches. There was talk that the establishment of a translation graduate university, intended to supplement the academy—which cannot grant degrees—has faced unexpected difficulties. While regional balanced development and administrative compromises are important, it is regrettable considering the professionalism and urgency required in training translators. For literature and art to retain their identity within institutional logic, we must continue to ask both internally and externally: Who Are You?
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