Reading Pictures, Translating Stories: How Picture Books Translate

As spaces for this session are limited, priority will be given to registrants on a first-come-first-served basis. We regret that we will not accept walk-ins if the session is full. Please pre-register for the workshop.

How do you translate when the story is told not only through words, but also through images? In this interactive workshop, author, literary critic, and picture book translator Kim Inae Sujung examines how picture books create meaning through text and illustration, and what this can teach us about storytelling, writing, and translation. Using well-known picture books, such as The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter and Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne, participants will examine how visual details and implied meaning come together and how these elements shape translation choices. Guided exercises will invite participants to look closely at picture book spreads, identify visual cues, and consider how these influence the way a story can be translated.

Participants will then try their hand at transcreating a short excerpt from a Korean picture book, applying the techniques discussed to create their own version that responds to both text and image.

This workshop is suitable for translators, writers, educators, and anyone curious about how stories travel across languages and cultures. No knowledge of Korean is required.

This session is supported by the National Translation Committee.

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