Chon Young-Ae (; born 1951) is a literary scholar and poet from South Korea.
She is an honorary professor emeritus in the Department of German Language and Literature at Seoul National University, specializing in German poetry. She held the position of department head from 2005 to 2007. She also served as the president of the Korean Goethe Society from 2006 to 2008."Prof. Dr. Young Ae Chon," Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS), accessed October 21, 2023, https://www.frias.uni-freiburg.de/de/das-institut/archiv-frias/school-of-lili/fellows/chon_lili Furthermore, in recognition of her contributions to numerous translations of German literature to the Korean language, she was appointed as the Director of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea in 2012.
Apart from her academic achievements, Chon has been recognized as an accomplished poet as well. She published six volumes of poetry, including some written in German."Prof. Dr. Young Ae Chon," Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS), accessed October 21, 2023, https://www.frias.uni-freiburg.de/de/das-institut/archiv-frias/school-of-lili/fellows/chon_lili Her most notable accomplishment is translating all of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's poems into Korean in 2009, which earned her the Golden Goethe Medal from the Weimar Goethe Society in 2011.Chang-young Kim, "Senior scholar dedicates life to studying Goethe," The Korea Times, September 2, 2023, https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/culture/2023/10/135_358265.html. Chon is currently working on developing a community known as "Goethe Village".Chang-young Kim, "Senior scholar dedicates life to studying Goethe," The Korea Times, September 2, 2023, https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/culture/2023/10/135_358265.html.
Life Chon was born in Yeongju, South Korea in 1951, and went to Gyeonggi Girls' Middle School and Gyeonggi Girls' High School. Later, she enrolled in the College of Liberal Arts at Seoul National UniversityKihong Han, "A girl who left her hometown begins to 'read'," Oh My News, June 6, 2022, https://www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/View/at_pg.aspx?CNTN_CD=A0002845404 despite the contemporary prejudice against women's education. There, she earned her bachelor's degree in German Language and Literature, in 1973.Byeong-geun Jeon, "[Minibook] Professor Chon Young Ae's 'Yeobaek Academy Complex' story," Chosun Biz, September 26, 2015, https://biz.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2015/09/25/2015092503068.html. Chon continued and received her master's degree, in the same department, with her thesis R. M. Rilke의 事物詩 (Dinggedicht): 新詩集을 中心으로 (R.M. Rike의 사물시 (Dinggedicht): 신시집을 중심으로; English: R. M. Rike's thing poem (Dinggedicht): Focusing on the new poetry collection) in 1975. Chon further pursued her studies at the University of Tübingen and the Kiel University in Germany around 1980, but soon returned to her homeland for her young child.Kihong Han, "A girl who left her hometown begins to 'read'," Oh My News, June 6, 2022, https://www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/View/at_pg.aspx?CNTN_CD=A0002845404 After returning to South Korea she revisited her studies at Seoul National University and received her Ph.D., in German Literature and Language, with her dissertation 파울 첼란의 詩에 나타난 苦痛의 形象化 (파울 첼란의 시에 나타난 고통의 형상화; English: The Embodiment of Pain in Paul Chelan's Poem) in 1986.
From 1985 to 1996, Chon served as a professor at Kyungwon University."Excellence in Teaching Award," SNU Awards, About SNU, Seoul National University, accessed November 7, 2023, https://en.snu.ac.kr/about/winners/education/2011. Over the years, she achieved numerous research accomplishments, serving as the president of the Korean Society of Goethe, as a senior researcher at the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies in Germany, and as a researcher at the Weimar Classical Foundation.Jong-tak Oh, "Globalization of K-culture? There is a solution in Goethe's life 200 years ago," Sisa Journal, November 7, 2022, https://www.sisajournal.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=249693 From 1996 to 2016, she worked as a professor at the Department of German Language and Literature at Seoul National University.Jong-tak Oh, "Globalization of K-culture? There is a solution in Goethe's life 200 years ago," Sisa Journal, November 7, 2022, https://www.sisajournal.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=249693 After her retirement, Chon has served as an honorary professor at Seoul National University.
Chon has dedicated herself to promoting German literature in South Korea. Currently, she is working on setting up a "Goethe Village," including a building resembling the Weimar Haus, where Goethe stayed in his later years.Kihong Han, "A girl who left her hometown begins to 'read'," Oh My News, June 6, 2022, https://www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/View/at_pg.aspx?CNTN_CD=A0002845404. In an interview with The Korea Times, Chon mentioned that she was working to finish translating all remaining written works by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, other than poetry she has already translated, within ten years.Chang-young Kim, "Senior scholar dedicates life to studying Goethe," The Korea Times, September 2, 2023, https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/culture/2023/10/135_358265.html.
Career
1987–1996 Professor at Kyungwon University 1996–2016 Professor in the Department of German Language and Literature at Seoul National University 2005–2007 Head of the Department of German Language and Literature at Seoul National University 2006–2008 President of Korean Goethe Society (한국 괴테학회 / Koreanische Goethe-Gesellschaft) 2006–2010 Director of Woosan Scholarship Association () 2008 Instructor at LMU Munich, Germany 2008–2010 Researcher at the University of Freiburg, Germany 2012–2015 Director of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea () 2016 to present Honorary Professor in the Department of German Language and Literature at Seoul National University
Achievements Literary works Chon has currently completed more than 60 translations of German literature into the Korean language, including the complete poems in the first volume of Hamburger Ausgabe, Dichtung und Wahrheit /Poetry and Truth (Part I &II) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Demian (Die Geschichte von Emil Sinclairs Jugend) by Hermann Hesse, and Metamorphosis (Die Verwandlung) by Franz Kafka."Alumnus Chon Young Ae, a master of German literature," Seoul National University Alumni Association, accessed October 21, 2023, https://www.snua.or.kr/magazine?md=v&seqidx=7400 These three translations are notable for being the first complete translations of German literature into Korean.
Chon also wrote poetry and books in both the German and Korean languages.. Sanghyun Park, "Emeritus Professor Chon Young Ae of Seoul National University received the Li Mirok Award from the Korea German Association," Yonhap News, May 25, 2022, https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20220525107200005 She attempted various poetic variations, using common poetic features, such as relationship between God and humans, nature and family, and compassion and pain as the themes of her poetry."Chon, Young-Ae," KLWAVE, Literature Translation Institute of Korea, accessed December 3, 2023, https://klwave.or.kr/klw/authors/201586/authorsView.do. One of Chon's well-known original works is 'Kafka My Kafka' published in 1994, which was written after she completed the translation of two of Kafka's works. In this work, Chon wrote about her journey to Prague, Kafka's hometown, and transformed it into a poem."Young Ae Chon publishes German edition of 『Kafka mein Kafka』," press release, notice, Literature Translation Institute of Korea, accessed December 3, 2023, https://ltikorea.or.kr/mo/board/press/boardView.do?bbsIdx=7362&pageIndex=1&searchCondition=&searchKeyword=. This work serves not only as an expression of her musings on Kafka but also as a depiction of her own literary realization. She translated this work into German with the German title Kafka mein Kafka."Young Ae Chon publishes German edition of 『Kafka mein Kafka』," press release, notice, Literature Translation Institute of Korea, accessed December 3, 2023, https://ltikorea.or.kr/mo/board/press/boardView.do?bbsIdx=7362&pageIndex=1&searchCondition=&searchKeyword=.
Golden Goethe Medal Chon won the Golden Goethe Medal (Goldene Goethe-Medaille) from the Weimar Goethe Society in Germany, in 2011. The Golden Goethe Medal is renowned as being the most honorable award for those working in the field of German literatureSanghyun Park, "Emeritus Professor Chon Young Ae of Seoul National University received the Li Mirok Award from the Korea German Association," Yonhap News, May 25, 2022, https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20220525107200005 and is awarded to researchers biennially; most of the winners have been Germans.Hangyore, "Young Ae Chon, first Asian to win Goethe Gold Medal," Hangyore, October 21, 2023, https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/483449.html. Chon was awarded this honorable medal as the first Asian woman in recognition of her many meaningful studies on German literature and translations. In one of her interviews, Chon mentioned that "It was the result of a comprehensive evaluation of all of my translations, papers, and writings."Byeong-geun Jeon, "[Minibook] Professor Chon Young Ae's 'Yeobaek Academy Complex' story," Chosun Biz, September 26, 2015, https://biz.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2015/09/25/2015092503068.html In her acceptance speech, she humbly promised to continue to make a contribution to the translation and studies of German literature to become more qualified for the award. Besides the Golden Goethe Medal, Chon received several awards both in Germany and South Korea throughout her career, such as the Reiner Kunze Award and the Women's Creation Award. The Women's Creation Award is an award given to the most influential females in the field of literature in South Korea."Samsung Happiness for Tomorrow Awards," Samsung Life Public Welfare Foundation, accessed October 21, 2023, http://www.samsungpublic.org/html/happy-awards.asp.
New teaching methods She received the Excellence in Teaching Award from Seoul National University for introducing new teaching methods such as debate, joint recitals, weekend membership training, and creating "one's textbook". The adaptation of these new teaching methods aimed to encourage the active participation of students during class."SNU Awards," About SNU, Seoul National University, accessed October 21, 2023, https://www.snu.ac.kr/about/winners/education/2011/194. Throughout her years as a professor, Chon hosted a class (titled "Understanding Masterpieces in German Literature"), where she led students to develop creative ways for peer teaching and acted as a facilitator instead of an instructor.Byeong-geun Jeon, "[Minibook] Professor Chon Young Ae's 'Yeobaek Academy Complex' story," Chosun Biz, September 26, 2015, https://biz.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2015/09/25/2015092503068.html This teaching style was not common during that time in Korean classrooms, where students were expected to listen quietly to the lecturing instructor.
Yeobaek Academy Complex One of Chon's most remarkable achievements is building the Yeobaek Academy Complex (), which is a place where everyday citizens can experience literature. She intended the Complex to serve as a place where people could come at any time to take a breath, look back on themselves, and look back on the world. She has been solely responsible for the management of the complex.Young-kwan Lee, "How big a person can be if he has a will, the example is 'Goethe'," Chosun Ilbo, June 9, 2023, https://www.chosun.com/culture-life/culture_general/2023/06/09/2MPZPMAQJJANHNW54HHTWDMFSU/