This study reviewed the English translations of Korean food names released by the National Institute of Korean Language (NIKL), in an attempt to investigate how they are accepted by prospective consumers of Korean foods. A quantitative survey of 300 respondents was conducted using a structured questionnaire in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, specifically looking into correlations between their preference of translation strategies and their age, education, and experience with Korea. The respondents were asked to rate the adequacy of the translation of Korean dishes in terms of "meaning" ("I can understand what the food is by its name") and "expression" ("The name is naturally expressed in English") after seeing the names and photos of the dishes. The respondents showed relatively high acceptance for literal and semantic translation (positive responses in the range between 65% and 80%), while their rating was very low for transliteration (meaning-19.0%, expression-21.6%) which is the NIKL’s preferred translation strategy. An in-depth survey was carried out with 9 native English speakers living in Korea to better understand underlying assumptions toward different translation strategies, and ultimately explore measures to improve current translations. With the integrated data from quantitative and qualitative research, the study revealed that translation strategies should be decided in consideration of readers’ attitudes toward and awareness of foreign culture.
