Trend to Translate Mild Korean Cursing into English F Word is Disappointing

[tjh_roberts_203]

First, I want to thank those that volunteer to translate. What a hard job.

There is a recent trend of translating mild cursing or verbal cues like sighing from Korean into the English F word (strong language). Words and phrases that used to not be translated into the F word are now more and more being translated that way in new Korean dramas being released on Viki like Lovely Runner and Twinkling Watermelon. I am a huge fan of Viki’s subtitle community, so I wanted to raise this concern.

My friends and I, including native Korean speakers, are appalled by the number of F words, and other strong words being displayed through subtitles on Korean dramas when those words are not what is being conveyed on screen.

I understand the challenges of translation, and how some things cannot be translated exactly due to differences in language, but the subtitles displaying the F word when the actor expressed another word or idea seems extreme.

A good example is in the Korean drama Lovely Runner, episode 10. A friend of the main male character cuts his hair to show how serious he is about the male lead doing something then finds out he didn’t need to cut his hair to convince him. As he looks at himself in a mirror, he expresses disappointment and the English subtitles translate that as an F-word.

Another example is in episode 12, the father of the male lead is washing poop out of his hair and curses out the bird. The subtitle is translated as a F-word when it might more appropriately be translated as a milder curse word. Our Korean friends have said instances like that are absolutely not what is being said, so that’s very frustrating.

From a general audience point of view, Viki would be better served to tone down the language in many of these dramas to appeal to a wider audience. Many people that I talk to watch Korean dramas because they are more family friendly and wholesome for the most part. The appeal is having quality stories without all the swearing, sex, and violence.

Of course, there are dramas that are for more mature audiences, but many of the dramas that are clearly lighter romantic dramas with a lot of comedy (Lovely Runner (counted 3 so far and Twinkling Watermelon 3 or so) have instances of very strong language that would qualify them for an ‘R’ rating (having more than 2 F-word) in the US instead of the PG-13 rating assigned to them on Viki’s site. Again as the F word is very offensive to US audiences, this is a disappointing experience and limits my desire and ability to watch these shows with family.

What can we do about this?

[irmar]

We volunteers have discussed this at length.
See this thread

Inappropriate use of vulgar words

I totally agree with you. I believe there were a couple discussions about topic before, and you are absolutely right. Gijibae does not mean bitch at all. It simply means a girl. Depending on the context, it could be used as a way to look down on that person, but it typically just means a girl and it can definitely be used in a friendly way, too. Jjashik literally means offspring and it can even be said to your own child in a loving way.

Part of this one:

Colloquialisms and translations question

The consensus is that the English is almost always more vulgar than the original and the swearwords much more impactful. Because Korean TV shows are watched by all the family, including grannies and kids, they usually avoid vulgarity and profanity, while films are much more “free” in that respect (and also sex and violence, of course). See this thread, it’s exactly about this topic: Inappropriate use of vulgar words

and also this one:

Is swearing allowed while subbing a drama?

Actually, I’ve taken to writing them wholeheartedly. It’s just viki has its own G-rated sensor so even words like idit are pending viki approval. -.- I write’em as I see 'em. I use stars. Some of the worst Korean words when translated don’t look bad at all. I do it to capture the feeling so as much as possible is transmitted faithfully to OL. One of the worst Korean cursewords is foaming at the mouth and wishing typhoid fever upon your enemies. The most common are variants of body fluid excha…

The fact is that nowadays the original translation into English is not done by Viki volunteers but by professional subtitlers paid by Viki. Because of the need to have the translation as quickly as possible. We only get to edit them.
Now, most of us (not all) will tend to edit exaggerated swear words. Maybe you have been watching episodes as soon as the translation came out, therefore before the editing? But, again, some of us are also not that careful to match the level of cursing to what it is in the original.

[tjh_roberts_203]

That makes sense. Thank you for that context. If it’s helpful, if I see something that seems really extreme, I can flag it for review or send a message directly to the channel manager for them to review with their team. How does that sound? Would that help? Any other suggestions?

[irmar]

@tjh_roberts_203

send a message directly to the channel manager for them to review with their team. How does that sound?

Yes, but if you have watched it as soon as the translation is uploaded, give it 2-3 days to make sure it has been edited. If the inappropriate translation is still there, then it makes sense to write - first to the Chief Editor and only if you don’t get a response, to the Channel Manager.

How to know the episode has been edited?
Check the so-called “cover page”. It’s a thin strip found on the Team tab, below the team members’ avatars. It is made by the volunteers (not automatically), and it usually includes a vertical poster of the drama, some pictures and descriptions of the main characters and below that there’s a table with all the members of the team. Usually, on the upper (or lower) edge of the drama poster, there will be some writing of the type “Episodes X out of 16 released for all languages”. This means that X number of episodes have been edited by the Viki volunteers.

On the above example, the work has been finished, that’s why you see “16 of 16” episodes.
Nowadays Viki puts tremendous pressure to “release” to other languages BEFORE editing so that they can start as soon as possible. Always for the sake of a quick disponibility of subtitles for the impatient viewers.
(This of course means that other languages may replicate mistakes, and then, after editing, they have to go back to check the changes)
But on the cover page this writing appears only when the real editing has been completed.

Is it worth pointing it out?
Let’s suppose that the drama has been edited (or is an old drama, long finished), but the chief English editor has still left this wrong translation. Will it be useful to write and point it out?
The answer is that it depends on how conscientious and humble this editor is.
There are some arrogant people who think they can never be wrong, and their very fragile ego resents anything that they perceive as a critique of their work. Or people who are too lazy to go back to an episode that for them is “finished”.
There are many others, though, who welcome suggestions (of course worded in a civilized manner) and are eager to learn more: those people will definitely thank you and immediately go make the necessary changes.
What I’m saying is, if you get a dismissive response, or no response at all, don’t get discouraged, because not everyone is the same. As outside, the same inside: on Viki too, in the volunteer community too, not everyone is the same, you can find many different characters. One may not respond in the way you would have wished, but the next one will.

[sandeepsandhu]

I think English Translators should use words like Brat, Idiot, Nincompoop, Darn it, ■■■■ it, Witch, Wench, Hey You, etc when there is no real cursing going on. If someone is actually saying **** (which can happen in Mature Audience Dramas), then only they should use those words.
There are so many different words in our different languages that can convey the same meaning of rudeness without cursing outright.

[tjh_roberts_203]

Thank you! So helpful!!

[sekycj_632]

I had always wondered about this too, so this is a really helpful explanation, thank you!!