ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to examine how Korean court interpretation has developed across time and space in the United States, as well as the findings of a research study into challenges faced by active Korean court interpreters and interpreter trainers. The court interpretation research included an online survey as well as a phone interview. Three active trainers/court interpreters were interviewed or surveyed. Respondents were asked about the greatest challenges Korean court interpreters face in the courtroom while interpreting, including legal terminology, the speed at which individuals in the courtroom speak, emotional cases, etc., and were also asked about country-wide court interpreter exams. These responses, together with the author’s experience, were used to generate the following report, which identifies the top three challenges as well as methods Korean court interpreters in the US can employ to overcome these challenges. The section on deposition interpretation presents findings of interviews with six different active Korean deposition interpreters, in which they were asked about the greatest linguistic challenges they face when interpreting at depositions. Current and aspiring Korean court interpreters must take these results into account in order to maximize their expertise and survive in the US court interpretation market.
