Fan Translations: Are You Sure That Is What They Said?

Don’t always accept a translation at face value without checking the source; not all unofficial translations have the artists well being at heart.

If you were to ask me ten years ago if K-Pop would be as globally recognized as it is today, I would have laughed in your face and even maybe called you delusional. However, in the last five years, the global expansion of Hallyu has even surpassed the expectations of idols themselves. K-Pop is reaching some of the farthest corners of the globe. The monumental speed of the expansion left many companies scrambling to meet the demands of fans, the biggest demand being translated content in their own language. While music videos are often being released with three or more lyric translations, other content often is neglected, leaving fans grabbing for straws until the time a translation is provided. This is where unofficial translations come into play. Unofficial translations have been bridging the gap for fans all over the world since the beginning of the Hallyu wave. In recent years, unofficial translations have not only helped but hindered the K-Pop community. While some unofficial translations will help tiny rookie teams reach audiences they wouldn’t have imagined, others are the key to ruining an idol’s reputation and some even create deeper issues within the already strained K-Pop community. 

Types of Unofficial Translations 

While translations happen in a variety of forms, these are the four most common types of translations found in the community.

“Copy-Paste-Post” Translations

These are the worst translations to use. These types of translations are more common with written text translations rather than spoken. When using translators, it is nearly impossible to catch the nuances of Korean. Different translators will use different words to a point where all meaning is lost. Another downside to copy-paste-post translations is the fact that translation websites and apps can be taught and trained to say whatever you want them to which further jeopardizes the reliability of these translators. A good example of the lost nuances and inability to adapt to slang is trying to use the translate function on Twitter. More often than not you will get wild, strange, and even sometimes inappropriate translations rather than the original message being portrayed. These wrong translations are often used by fandoms to create controversy among other groups or as a way for people to “cancel” one another. 

Fan Translations

Fan translations can be iffy. They can be completely accurate or they are absolutely wrong. A lot of fan translations are dedicated to one specific group. Not all fan translations are created equal; some use copy and paste translations and masquerade them as “native” translations and some others might lie about their translations entirely. The accounts who are real fan translators will often tweet live translations of things like V LIVE or Instagram lives. Their role is essential to the fan ecosystem as V LIVE will often take a long time to add subtitles to lives. When relying on a fan translation, make sure to read other tweets, see the age of the account, and peek at their interactions to make sure they are who they say they are. 

Translation Teams

These are the most trustworthy and reliable unofficial translations. Translation teams are dedicated to one group and often have several team members that are both native Korean speakers and near-native speakers. They vet and test the members of their teams and they all have the common goal of helping other fans access the content of their favorite groups. Another common thing to see is translation teams for K-Dramas and Variety shows. These teams are the ones that you will encounter most of the time. Teams will often have websites where all their subs can be found. 

How To Check if an Unofficial Translation is Reliable

Like checking for sources when writing a paper, you should always double-check the translation before you accept it as fact. 

Where Does the Translation Come From?

Always check the legitimacy of the translation. Where are you finding the translation? Is it from a translation account? Is it a copy and paste translation? Is it coming from a K-Pop gossip site?  Wherever the translation is coming from, make sure it matches up with what other translators are coming up with. If multiple reputable sources are saying the same thing, the translation source is reliable. 

Where is the Original Content From?

Does the translation come from a legitimate original content? There have been cases that international fans find “translations” of comments people have supposedly made on a platform that they do not actually use. Most recently this issue arose from an account who made a fake V LIVE translation of a senior idol saying not nice things about their juniors. This caused a huge riff between these two fandoms until fans of the senior idol were able to point out that the V LIVE didn’t exist and that the senior idol group didn’t use V LIVE for solo content. This is something to look out for and why it is important to double check the original source to make sure it exists. 

Final Thoughts

While translations are important to the K-Pop fandom, it is important to question the source, especially when sources are so easily faked or try to masquerade themselves as “news.” Many K-Pop fans take what they see at face value, so knowing where to look for the most reliable translations for things is something to know how to do. Most translators, whether a team or individual, who spend the time to create accurate translations for fans are doing it out of equal love and support for those who seek out the translations. Fandoms usually have an idea of which translators are reliable and trustworthy, so ask around. Lastly, as these are unofficial translations, it means that they are done for free. Be patient while translators and teams work as they often have the translations out faster than the companies while juggling their real jobs and lives.