I want introduce you to another language quirk in Korean that affects some of our Korean translation [EXPIRED LINK REMOVED: https://uz9.25e.myftpupload.com/] projects, especially websites.
Koreans rarely write the words “Copyright” or “All rights reserved” in Korean in the footer of a website.
It seems odd, no? But if you don’t believe me (or just want to see what I mean), check these major Korean sites out:
- Woori Bank – www.wooribank.com/
- Yes24 – www.yes24.com
- The Blue House – president.go.kr (The Korean version of the White House in the US)
Isn’t this crazy? Everything else on the site is in Korean, but these two phrases are left in English!
I’m afraid my team has gotten pretty beat up over this issue over the years and we are now trained on Korean business translation [EXPIRED LINK REMOVED: https://uz9.25e.myftpupload.com/korean-business-translation/] projects to translate everything into Korean. This is because Western clients don’t like seeing few words left in English after they’ve paid for a Korean translation of everything.
Best–Practices Tip – You are actually providing a more authentic Korean translation by leaving “Copyright” and “All rights reserved” in English on a Korean website than by translating them!
Bonus Tip – Koreans do this in their books too! Check this out: