English signs at temples lack precision

The nation’s Buddhist temples are major tourist attractions for foreigners, who often rely on English versions of Korean signs to learn about the temples they are visiting.

The need to enhance the accuracy of these sign translations is becoming more apparent as the templestay program heads into its 10th year in 2012. The program has emerged as one of the most successful tourism campaigns since its inception in 2002.
An expert in the missionary work of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism says that to improve the English translations of temple signs the Korean versions need fixing first.

“In many temples, the problem starts with the inadequate original texts in Korean. In the process of translating such flawed works into English, we end up with many errors and misinterpretations,” Bae Kwang-shik, president of the International Dharma Instructors’ Association (IDIA), said during a recent interview with The Korea Times.

One of the key initiatives of the affiliate organization of the Missionary Division of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism is to publish a definitive Korean-English Buddhism dictionary....

Read the full article at The Korea Times here.