The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
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FEATURES @Linguist_CIOL DecemBer/JaNuarY The Linguist 21 I n many contemporary markets, workers engaged in certain professions are required to be more aesthetically pleasing than those working in other areas. examples abound in the retail and hospitality sectors, where 'appropriate' appearances are defined organisationally (e.g. through dress codes and grooming standards), and the importance of "looking good and sounding right" 1 continues to grow. known as 'aesthetic labour', the pressure on workers to enhance individual aesthetics has now inflicted other industries, but readers may find it surprising that professional interpreters in south korea are currently under pressure to perform aesthetic labour. so why do interpreters in korea need to be beautiful? the phenomenon of eoljjang tongyeoksa, which translates as 'good-looking interpreters', began around 2010, when an increasing number of beautiful female interpreters appeared on television. the number of foreigners in korea has increased in recent years, so it is not uncommon to see foreign contestants in local talent shows, leading to a demand for interpreters to mediate between them and the shows' hosts. Popular interpreters who appear on tV have two elements in common: they are all females and they are all beautiful. since the emergence of this distinctive group of beautiful female interpreters, I was curious to find out if/how this phenomenon has influenced other segments of the interpreting field in korea. I contacted english-korean interpreters engaged in various areas of work to seek their views on whether an attractive physical appearance benefits people in their profession. the result was quite surprising. the majority of the 27 research participants expressed the opinion that 'good looks' can bring additional – if not significant – career benefits, and said they were employing various self-styling strategies to enhance their own aesthetic appeal. those strategies included efforts to look younger (e.g. covering grey hair), smiling, congeniality and attractive voice projection. It was also reported that interpreters in korea invest in body management, fashion and even plastic surgery to enhance personal looks. 2 Losing respect Before the emergence of this phenomenon, english- korean interpreters were recognised and respected for their english language skills, which were – and still are – highly valued across korean society. 3 the popularity of the profession is exemplified by the fact that entry to local university-based translation and interpreting institutes is highly competitive. the success rate is said to be around one in 20 in the case of the english-korean Department of the graduate school of Interpretation and translation (gsIt) – the most prestigious such school in korea. as "master english speakers", 4 english-korean interpreters were viewed as perfect bilinguals whose professional qualifications were defined exclusively by their linguistic skills. With the ongoing beautification trend, however, language skills have gradually been devalued. the interpreters who appear in the media these days are described as "goddess interpreters". A woman's world? In order to understand this shift in professional reputation and the burden of aesthetic labour on korean interpreters, it is important to ask the following question: for whom are they making efforts to look beautiful? regarded by some as a 'no-man's land', 5 the global language industry is an area where women have traditionally outnumbered men, and the fields of translation and interpreting in korea are no exception. the ratio of male and female interpreters in korea is said to be around 3:7. the numeric dominance of women in the field, however, does not necessarily translate into career advantages for female interpreters. It should be noted that most interpreters work in casual jobs or on a freelance basis with relatively low remuneration and little job security. It is, indeed, this casual nature of language The interpreters who appear in the media these days are described as "goddess interpreters" POWER PLAY Predominantly male clients can now take their pick from a pool of predominantly female interpreters – and many include an attractive appearance as a desirable attribute