Dear Interested Parties,

I was born in LA, grew up in Korea, went to high school in Thailand, attended college in Massachusetts and Seoul, and served the Korean Army for two years as a dual citizen of Korea and America. For ten years, I worked as a localization producer in the field of game software and digital contents at Sony Interactive Entertainment Korea. The position I occupied is directly responsible for producing English-to-Korean localization for PlayStation titles, apps, and web services. I managed their production, translation, testing, and release with the help of a global and local network. Owing to my proficiency in both languages and professional background in localization, I feel that I have a competitive edge for this position with a unique blend of accuracy, timeliness, and a strong eye for consistency.

Combined with the educational background in literature and my natural strength in dual languages, I have the advantage of being able to preserve the artistic direction of the English source and making sure subtle nuances do not go unnoticed. I make use of character bios, glossaries, and other supporting documents for the right atmosphere whenever possible, and maintain them in both languages for maximum efficiency. I understand the importance of guidelines, naming conventions, as well as culturally sensitive elements and objectionable contents in Korea that must be kept in mind at all times. Through the medium of video games, I have also worked with source text that spans a wide range of settings from military, factions, combat, missions to human drama, both realistic and fantastical.

Managing an ever-changing localization requirement for multiple concurrent long-term projects has allowed me to cultivate a unique contextual intuition for translation. Beyond the ability to provide correct, dependable translation on time, it is critical to anticipate where and how mistranslation can occur. Game text typically places a heavy emphasis on dialogue and abstract descriptions but often lacks the necessary context. This requires me to always consider how characters are related and how their relationship, motivation, and personal background affect their speech. Because game translation happens in batches that undergo constant revision by writers, it is crucial to have an eye for finding inconsistencies and recognizing their pattern. Post mortem reviews have also taught me what a finished product should look like and how to improve the process for upcoming projects, further honing my contextual intuition.

As localization is an ongoing process along with early production of a game title, I understand the nature of confidential work that is yet to be made public. I am also responsible for reviewing outgoing, public materials such as press release, fact sheet, blog post, printed software packaging, manual, and advertisement, and know the importance of double checking even the most mundane detail that cannot be corrected once in circulation. As a native Korean speaker who has spent the majority of his life in Seoul, I have a natural instinct for the way Korean people use both Korean and English and how it should be reflected in translation. 

I look forward to hearing from you should my qualifications be a good match for your project. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about my services. Thank you for your time and consideration in advance.