The Term Question in Korean Bible Translations

Abstract

This chapter explores the Term Question, the theological controversy among Western missionaries, mostly Protestants, over the choice of the special names or terms in the Korean language in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In Korea, as in other East Asian countries, the lively dialogue among Western missionaries and Korean assistant scholars contributed in significant ways to the rendition of the viable Korean Bibles. There have been heated disputes among translators over which terms are the most appropriate for common Korean readers. After serious consideration, the translators have endeavored to decide on the best possible and most appropriate words and phrases. On the whole, they have attempted to make their versions of the Bible readily readable without marring the spirit of the Scripture.