Korean Translator

When every word counts, rely on a proven professional Korean translator for your Korean translation needs.

I have worked as a professional Korean translator for more than twenty years. With extensive business and language experience in Korea, knowledge and insights learned through graduate-level studies and research at Hanyang University, and the latest translation technology and skills, I provide technical Korean translation to clients in countries around the world. I mainly work with companies, lawyers, and investors (as well as multilingual translation agencies), but I also welcome inquiries from individuals and others who value high-quality work.

• BBA in Economics from the University of Texas at Arlington (USA) and MS in Management Strategy from Hanyang University (Korea)
• Former in-house Korean business translator/editor for Korean multinational corporation (LG International)
• 25 years in Korea, business, and translation fields; 1000s of projects; 100s of clients
• Certified at the highest level in Korean proficiency and Korean-to-English translation
• Advanced student and translator of econometrics/statistics for the social sciences
• Expert in search engine marketing, including SEO, PPC, and keyword research
• Co-author (including as first author) of Korean-language economic research in Korean academic journals

“People, including professional translators, falsely believe that reading the source text correctly is less important for translation quality than writing the target text well. This is a huge misunderstanding and a great misfortune for me, as I am tasked with proofreading and editing draft translations submitted by freelancers every day.

Out of this false belief, Korean translators not only neglect to improve their English-reading skills for English-to-Korean translation, but also take minimal care in reading Korean texts for Korean-to-English translation. Their poor translation quality is indeed as attributable to their unskilled reading as it is to their writing.

As a result, we recruit one good translator out of dozens of candidates, and you are one of them. I think one of the crucial factors that makes you a good translator is your excellent Korean-reading skills. In fact, you have the greatest Korean-reading skills among non-native translators I’ve ever seen, and you are even better than native Korean translators in your fields. I’ve learned much from you about how I should develop my own skills. I appreciate your service.

Perhaps many of your clients will expect you just an eloquently decorated English product as you are a (purely) native American. Granted, you are a good English writer. But they should know that the high quality of your translations is also because you are a good reader of Korean and that this is why your translations can be well appreciated by readers.”

Manager Kim Dol, SI-Docurator (Seoul, Korea)

Undergraduate education and business experience in Korea

As a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington (College of Business Administration), I worked in Seoul for nearly five years as an employee within the LG Group of South Korea, including as a Korean technical translator. During that time, I learned about Korean business practices from the inside as the only non-Korean member of a team supporting the trading activities of LG International, Corp., a general trading company. I also promoted overseas sales for several Korean companies, and worked to edite and translate Korean technical documents.

Korean technical translation services

With a perfectionist mindset, deep understanding of the requirements of translation clients, and high-level Korean skills, my team and I have successfully handled thousands of technical English to Korean translation projects, mainly for US-based companies and agencies, but also for individuals and companies around the world. I have been providing these services as a professional Korean translator working as president of my company, Korean Consulting & Translation Service, Inc., since 2000.

Graduate-level study and research in Korea

I attended the Graduate School of Business Administration at Hanyang University to further develop my unique Korean business perspective, and to improve my language skills, in an immersive Korean-language environment. In February 2011, I was awarded an MS in Management Strategy. I returned to Hanyang in 2012 and am currently working on my dissertation as a PhD candidate, with an expected graduation in 2020. During this time, I have worked on Korean academic translation projects, as well on translating Korean patents.

Other Korea-related business experience and writing

I previously served as an official GyeongGi Province Foreign Direct Investment Adviser, as well as adviser to the GyeongGi Association of Foreign-Invested Companies. I also served as creator and administrator of Korea Business Central, an online community focused on business in Korea, and I am the author of the Korean weblog, Nojeok Hill: My View from the Top.

Detailed Korean Translator Overview

Main work time zone: US Central Standard Time (UTC/GMT -6/-7 hours).
US citizen and holder of permanent-resident status in Korea
E&O insurance: Lloyds of London, US$1 million coverage
Weblogs: nojeokhill.koreanconsulting.com; seongpodong.koreanconsulting.com
LinkedIn: kr.linkedin.com/in/sbammel
Business websites: KoreanConsulting.com (active site); KoreaBusinessCentral.com (dormant site)