Translation and its Potentials—A Discussion of World Literature through Han Kang’s "The Vegetarian" and its Translation

In May 2016, Han Kang's novel "The Vegetarian" was the first translation ever to win the Man Booker International Prize, which also for the first time split the prestigious cash award between writer and translator. Following the announcement of the win, both Han Kang and the novel's translator Deborah Smith were drawn to the center of the media spotlight. The celebration within Korea, however, did not continue for long when Korean readers and critics began to accuse the novel of mistranslation. Who won the prize? Was it Han's original craft or Smith's translation? The debate over the novel's translation turned Han's novel and its prize-winning episode into a matter of controversy over literature and national identity. It also brings back to the discussion table, larger questions around the topic of world literature. What is the relationship between national and world literature? What kind of national literature can become successful world literature? What is the role of translation in world literature?

This thesis provides a comprehensive view of the origins of world literature and explains the controversies around how to read world literature today. Through the reading of "The Vegetarian" in Korean, English, and Chinese, I offer my own understanding of world literature as not a definable category but a methodology that readers can apply to work of literature written in a foreign language.