PARK SU-JUNG (Class of ’03, Dept. of Social Welfare) is a simultaneous Korean-English-French interpreter for international conferences, as well as an educator at the Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies (HAFS). In an interview with the The Yonsei Annals, Park talks about her personal life and sixteen-year-long career as an interpreter. As she once served as the editor-in-chief in the Annals during her undergraduate years, she shares her special moments and memories in Yonsei.

Annals:  Could you describe the work of an interpreter?

Park: Language interpretation can be divided into simultaneous interpretation, consecutive interpretation, and whispering interpretation. Simultaneous interpreters deliver the speech to the public, by a number of interpreters taking turns in delivering the speech or working separately in their designated booths. Sometimes the words of a speaker are written down in text and then delivered to interpreters; it is called consecutive interpretation. In private meetings with a few attendees or sometimes with the help of communication devices, whispering interpretation, or transferring the language privately to a listener, takes place.

Annals:What are some of the most memorable international conferences you have attended?

Park: Some biggest major international conferences held by affiliated organizations of the United Nations (UN), those with over a hundred participating nations, or General Assemblies of international organizations remain the most memorable. Once, the former president of Interpol, Kim Jong-yang, served as the executive committee of General Assembly, using Korean as the pivot language[1]. It was a special experience as using Korean was such an unprecedented case especially in international organizations. Conferences held under unique agendas and of professional fields other than commonly discussed topics like health or climate were also intriguing. I attended an international symposium on beekeeping that was held for three days. It was definitely challenging work and required professional-level knowledge as the topic was unfamiliar to me, but I was able to gain extensive depth of knowledge in beekeeping.

Annals: What motivated you to pursue your career as an interpreter?

Park: My strong enthusiasm and affection for learning languages since I was young led me to draw a rough sketch of my future career as an interpreter and a diplomat. After entering the Department of Social Welfare in Yonsei University, with my goal to work in international organizations such as UNICEF, I applied for the Junior Public Officer affiliated with the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I did not manage to get in as I was still an undergraduate student without a master’s degree, so I set my heart on becoming an interpreter instead of diplomacy. Then, I got a chance to volunteer in an international conference on climate affairs where I took the role of delivering documents inside the interpreters’ booths. At the conference, I met interpreter Bae Yoo-jung, a role model that I looked up to. She was one of the most renowned interpreters of the time with rich experiences such as partaking in the 2002 World Cup. While watching her in the conference, I was motivated to pursue a career as an interpreter. It was when I started preparing for, and finally got into the Graduate School of Interpretation in HAFS—that I formally pursued it.

Annals: What are some of the hardest challenges you faced working as an interpreter? How did you handle them?

Park: As an interpreter, I encounter a lot of burdensome situations at the workplace. Interpreting the words of high-profile, VIP clients, especially in summits or important conferences is a typical example since every single word I speak can greatly influence diplomatic relations between countries. Broadcasting interpretation usually held in live mass media broadcasts also puts me under a great level of pressure despite being confident in front of an audience. In simulcasted systems, the interpreted speech is written down by stenographers, and is directly delivered to the public as live news headlines. Attending professional conferences is another tough task as my job is to mediate the communication between scholars regardless of being the only non-professional in the meeting. Disruptive environments, internal factors such as self-pressure, and feelings of anxiety can be overcome by putting more effort into one’s work. Thorough preparation and studying in advance would, at the end, acquaint me with theseburdensome factors.

Annals: Are there any useful tips when learning a new language?

Park: Learning a new language requires great perseverance as it does not result in immediate outcomes in a linear manner; it looks more like a set of stairs where your skills suddenly improve after going through what seems unyielding at the moment. I regard steadiness and consistency as key factors in studying a language. The perseverance would someday lead to satisfying outcomes. To add on, I highly recommend taking advantage of the media of your preference when studying. Among many media forms available these days—podcasts, e-books, or movies—I believe the one that you most prefer and enjoy would be most conducive. When learning English, I personally enjoyed listening to songs of the rock band Queen. I tried to memorize the lyrics, which helped me a lot. I think being attentive to the cultures of the language group is an essential part of learning their voices, since culture and language are inseparable realms.

Annals: What kind of student were you when you were an undergraduate in Yonsei and what was your most memorable activity working in the Annals?

Park: As an undergraduate, I was a very active and outgoing student with various experiences including working in a school club, traveling, tutoring, studying as an exchange student, and working as a Residential Assistant in the international dormitory. I devoted my life as an undergraduate working in the Annals for about two years, from reporter to editor to editor-in-chief. I have a lot of good memories in the Annals, including the Annals Membership Training camps, interviews, and regular meetings but the most memorable experience was when we published a special edition issue on the 2002 World Cup. Back then, magazines were not all printed in color due to budget limits, but as the editor-in-chief, I wanted to make a special publication in full-color. So, I reached out for help to alumni of the Annals and recieved financial support to extend our pages and publish an entirely color-printed issue. To this day, it remains one of my most memorable activities in the Annals. All these experiences during my undergraduate years were helpful when I eventually started my career.

Annals: What kind of advice would you give to Yonsei students who are interested in working as an interpreter?

Park: Many say that interpreting is one of the jobs that will disappear in the near future. I personally think that the recent Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have reached the point where they can perform a high level of translation to replace the role of humans. Despite the fact that the AI and ChatGPT buzz is going mainstream across various industries, it seems that there is far more to go for high technologies to completely replace the works of interpreters. I still regard interpreting as a promising career, and the great sense of accomplishment that comes after the tense work is what makes interpreting immensely fulfilling. I recommend students who are willing to work as interpreters to devote their time studying their academic majors deeply, as knowledge in a specific professional field would become a strong advantage. In fact, the most memorable compliments I receive after my work is “You must have majored in this field,” more than those regarding my language skills. Other than language proficiency, level of knowledge in a specific field, such as engineering or medicine, would be an essential qualification of a competent interpreter. In addition, I would like to stress the importance of high proficiency in your native language. Since I am Korean, the expected level of language proficiency is often set higher when I interpret French and English to Korean, than vice versa. Foreign language skills are essential qualifications of an interpreter; but even so, I would like to lay emphasis on keeping a high level of your native language.

[1] Pivot language is used as an intermediary language for translation between many different languages.