South Korea: Community Interpreting in South Korea—A Case Study of Police Interpreting

This chapter presents an overview of interpreter training programs commissioned by the Korean National Police Agency between 2018 and 2020. The short course on police interpreting had been a one-day on-site training session, but the pandemic shifted the training online in 2020. The surveys of trainees indicate that they strongly agreed that the training was helpful for their practice, and their satisfaction levels remained high regardless of the mode of training—in person or online. However, trainers—most of whom have participated in the training for at least two to three years—have shared some concerns and doubts about the efficacy of the training program, mainly because of organizational issues, including the lack of prescreening trainees and large class sizes. This chapter argues that despite some progress over the years, key issues—such as the lack of both police understanding of interpreter training and a long-term approach to this training—are yet to be addressed.