231019 Paste Magazine: Behind the Scenes of the Translation Process That Bought the BTS Memoir to English-Speaking Fans (based on interview with translators)

> In order to ensure consistency and accessibility across editions, HYBE gave the translators a glossary to use that included specific guidelines on how to translate the way the members refer to one another—an aspect of the translation Hur says he would have pushed back against, if they’d had more time. “They insisted on all the nicknames being taken out, and only using their official stage names,” says Hur. (The members’ use of nicknames is preserved in the original Korean-language edition.) “I really regret not being able to do the nicknames. I think it would have been really nice to do. But I also understand where they’re coming from. All translation is about choices, and this is just the choice that they had to make in order to make the translation as accessible as possible to as many fans as possible.”

Oh man more motivation to continue learning Korean I guess 😅 edit to add: because I wanna be able to see all the nicknames in context! I feel like which nicknames members choose to use to refer to each other are super important for understanding their relationships and tone/mood, like Hoba or Jimin-ie or Suga-hyung. 🥺

Edit to add: is it ever explained elsewhere why exactly they waited so late to get the book translated before publication that Hur’s team has only a month to work? Was it a consequence of the company wanting the book to be published by Army day and the writers not meeting deadlines? Lol was it like a professional version of the worst executed big bang challenges?

Fantastic article.