Plan for literary translation graduate school delayed over regional development policy

LTI Korea has delayed its plan to open an independent graduate school for Korean literary translation in Seoul because of the government’s balanced regional development policy. The institute is now exploring an interim master’s program with a regional national university while still pursuing a standalone school later. The revised plan follows talks with the culture and education ministries and the education ministry committee’s view that the school should not be in Seoul.

LTI Korea had planned to open the graduate school in September 2027 by remodeling its headquarters in southern Seoul.

The institute is now seeking to start a master’s program in collaboration with a regional national university in September next year.

The proposed school would expand LTI Korea’s Translation Academy into an accredited master’s degree program focused specifically on literary translation, with an initial annual intake of 60 students, including 45 international students.

Published Sep 14, 2026 4:07 pm KST

Updated Sep 14, 2026 4:40 pm KST

LTI Korea weighs interim master's program with provincial university partner

Literature Translation Institute of Korea President Chon Soo-young speaks during a press briefing for the launch of a committee promoting the establishment of its graduate school of translation at Fraser Place Namdaemun Seoul, April 28. Newsis

A plan by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea) to establish an independent graduate school dedicated to Korean literary translation in Seoul has been delayed as it went against the government's initiative for "balanced regional development." The institution is now reviewing an interim master's program with a national university outside Seoul while continuing to pursue the longer-term goal of a standalone facility.

The state-run institute under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has long operated a translation academy that has nurtured translators who bring Korean literature to wider international audiences. Its key limitation, however, has been that the program falls outside the official degree education system. To address that, the institute planned to open an independent graduate school in Seoul in September 2027.

Those plans have since been revised, according to government officials and other sources, and it is now in talks with regional universities to launch a master's degree program as an interim step instead.

“As a transitional measure, we have revised our plans and are now seeking to start operating this master’s program in collaboration with a regional national university in September next year,” an LTI Korea official told The Korea Times. “As for establishing an independent school, we have not abandoned the plan despite the current circumstances. We intend to continue pursuing it after putting better conditions in place for what’s required for establishment.”

No specific partner school has been determined yet, she added.

The original plan called for remodeling LTI Korea’s headquarters in southern Seoul to serve as the school’s educational facility. It was revised after two months of intensifying discussions among representatives of LTI Korea and the culture and education ministries, she said.

The change came amid the Lee Jae Myung administration’s emphasis on balanced regional development, under which the capital region is seen as already concentrating too much of Korea’s population and resources. The Ministry of Education’s university establishment and restructuring review committee recently expressed the view that the new graduate school should not be established in Seoul.

“My understanding is that members of the committee expressed the view that, given the current strong emphasis on balanced regional development, it would be more desirable to collaborate with institutions in less central regions for the program rather than establish it in Seoul,” an education ministry official said.

LTI Korea began forming a committee in April to advance the translation school plan under the revised Literature Promotion Act, which came into force last year. The envisioned school would have expanded its existing Translation Academy into an accredited master’s degree program dedicated to translating Korean literature.

Unlike other graduate schools of translation and interpretation, the proposed institution would focus specifically on literary translation. The initial plan called for an annual intake of 60 students, including 45 international students.

The project has been viewed as part of a broader effort to cultivate professional translators as Korean literature gains a wider international readership, particularly following novelist Han Kang’s 2024 Nobel Prize in literature.

Many experts in the industry see Seoul as the preferred location for the proposed graduate school, citing concerns that a regional location could make it harder to recruit both students and leading instructors from overseas.

“If the school is located outside Seoul, there would be limits in attracting talented foreign students,” one expert said. “There would also be constraints in inviting teachers, who would have to travel to a regional campus.”

Kwak Hyo-hwan, a former LTI Korea president who led efforts to establish the school, expressed disappointment over the revised plan.

“It is regrettable. If the government’s regional relocation policy takes priority over everything else, there is little more to say except that it is regrettable,” he said.

由于韩国政府推行均衡的区域发展政策，LTI Korea推迟了在首尔设立独立的韩国文学翻译研究生院的计划。该机构目前正在与一所地区性国立大学探讨开设过渡性硕士项目，同时仍计划日后建立独立的研究生院。此前，该机构曾与文化部和教育部进行磋商，而教育部委员会认为该研究生院不应设在首尔，因此做出了上述调整。

LTI Korea 计划于 2027 年 9 月通过改造其位于首尔南部的总部来开设研究生院。

该研究所目前正寻求与一所地区性国立大学合作，于明年九月开办硕士课程。

拟建的学校将把 LTI Korea 的翻译学院扩展为一个获得认证的硕士学位课程，专门专注于文学翻译，初期每年招收 60 名学生，其中包括 45 名国际学生。

发布于2026年9月14日下午4:07（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年9月14日下午4:40（韩国标准时间）

LTI Korea正在考虑与省级大学合作伙伴开展过渡性硕士项目。

4月28日，韩国文学翻译学会会长全秀英在首尔南大门弗雷泽广场举行的新闻发布会上发表讲话，宣布成立一个委员会，旨在推动该学会研究生翻译学院的建立。（Newsis）

韩国文学翻译院（LTI Korea）在首尔设立一所专门从事韩国文学翻译的独立研究生院的计划，因与政府“均衡区域发展”的倡议相悖而被推迟。该机构目前正在与首尔以外的一所国立大学合作，探讨开设过渡性硕士项目的可能性，同时继续推进建立独立研究生院的长期目标。

隶属于文化体育观光部的这家国立机构长期以来一直运营着一所翻译学院，培养了众多将韩国文学推向更广阔国际读者群的译者。然而，其主要局限在于该项目并不属于官方学位教育体系。为了解决这个问题，该机构计划于2027年9月在首尔开设一所独立的研究生院。

据政府官员和其他消息人士透露，这些计划后来进行了修改，目前正在与地区大学洽谈，以启动硕士学位课程作为过渡措施。

LTI Korea的一位官员告诉《韩国时报》：“作为一项过渡措施，我们已修改了计划，目前正寻求与一所地区性国立大学合作，于明年9月启动该硕士项目。至于建立独立学院，尽管目前形势严峻，但我们并未放弃该计划。我们打算在具备更完善的办学条件后继续推进。”

她补充说，目前还没有确定具体的合作院校。

最初的计划是将位于首尔南部的LTI韩国总部改建为学校的教学设施。她说，经过LTI韩国代表与文化教育部代表两个月的密集磋商，该计划进行了修订。

这一变化正值李在明政府强调区域均衡发展之际，政府认为首都圈已经过度集中了韩国的人口和资源。教育部大学设立和重组审查委员会近期也表示，新的研究生院不应设在首尔。

“据我了解，委员会成员认为，鉴于目前对区域均衡发展的重视，与中心程度较低的地区的机构合作开展该项目比在首尔设立该项目更为可取，”教育部官员表示。

LTI Korea于今年4月开始组建委员会，以推进根据去年生效的修订版《文学振兴法》设立翻译学院的计划。该学院设想将其现有的翻译学院扩展为一个获得认证的硕士学位项目，专门从事韩国文学翻译。

与其他翻译研究生院不同，拟建的这所院校将专注于文学翻译。初步计划每年招收60名学生，其中包括45名国际学生。

随着韩国文学获得更广泛的国际读者群，特别是随着小说家韩江获得 2024 年诺贝尔文学奖，该项目被视为培养专业翻译人员的更广泛努力的一部分。

业内许多专家认为首尔是拟建研究生院的首选地点，他们担心选址在偏远地区可能会使从海外招募学生和顶尖教师变得更加困难。

一位专家表示：“如果学校位于首尔以外，吸引优秀外国学生就会受到限制。邀请教师也会受到限制，因为他们必须前往地区校区任教。”

曾领导创办这所学校的 LTI Korea 前总裁郭孝焕对修改后的计划表示失望。

“这令人遗憾。如果政府的区域搬迁政策凌驾于一切之上，除了遗憾之外，我们还能说什么呢？”他说道。