On the Challenges of Cultural Translation Through the Socio-Historical Prism of Korean and Russian

This study focuses on unique linguistic expressions reflecting the cultural characteristics of countries learning Korean (as a foreign language), as well as the difficulties arising in Korean-Russian text translation—that is, the challenges of cultural translation. The author views language as a comprehensive embodiment of culture and argues that language education and cultural education cannot be separated. By attempting to approach through Korean cultural concepts how culture can be integrated into language learning from an areal linguistic perspective and how students can encounter a new linguistic culture, this study provides guidelines for enhancing learners' translation and communication abilities. Furthermore, the study aimed to present Korean cultural codes to learners by analyzing the meanings embedded in North and South Korean idioms featuring “ttok” (Korean rice cake), a quintessential element of Korean culture.