Subtitles For the Win? Korean Drama Wave Reignites Old Debate

For those watching K-drama via apps; it's very likely the future will be subbed... not dubbed

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Did you watch the dubbed-into-English "Squid Game" or view it in the original Korean with subtitles? If your hand went up for the latter, one report says you're in the minority! But this doesn't mean dubs have won their deathmatch with subs. "Squid Game" creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has a clear preference. "Please watch the subtitled one", said Hwang in an interview with Good Morning America. "If you don't see the acting, the performance from the real actor, then you are not seeing anything. You are missing most of the "Squid Game" fun". With loads of great Korean content coming out every few months, both the subtitling and dubbing industries are doing well, but there's evidence the pendulum has begun to swing towards subtitles - and the massive popularity of K-Dramas have a lot to do with it.

It's never been easier to watch both classic and new K-content via a K-drama App -some titles have been subtitled into as many as 150 languages! Dubbing artists are stepping up their game for Korean dramas as well, but putting your money on subs is likely a safer bet as people become accustomed to subs and more agree that hearing and seeing a film or series in its original language is more fulfilling. But there will likely be holdouts. Movies and TV shows are dubbed into local languages far more often than some might think and hundreds of millions of people still love a good dubbing - in some places, it's a way to fame. For example, meet Thomas Danneberg. This former German actor and retired master voice-over actor is a legend for his German versions of US actors. Danneberg provided the dialogue for tough guys such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, as well as actors as dissimilar as John Cleese and John Travolta. You'll also catch his voice in animations from Shrek 2 to Big Hero 6. Dubbing actors in Spain have likewise become minor celebrities. Constantino Romero is a person talented enough to pull off the Español versions of Dirty Harry's Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger's version of the Terminator, and the dark rumblings of Darth Vader. Italians apparently also prefer watching Hollywood films dubbed rather than subtitled.

On the other side of the world in Brazil, subtitling was reportedly the default until 2012 - but then dubbed versions got cool and these days are more popular than the subtitled versions. Movie theaters in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan often offer both versions of, say, a Disney animation. In many other parts of Asia, films meant for younger audiences are also increasingly being dubbed, generally by various famous singers or local celebrities. India has a wealth of languages, but instead of subtitling into all of the myriad minority tongues, dubbing is common. Traditionally the Scandinavians, Japanese, and North American markets have been seen as more accepting of subtitling for foreign films - but in the case of the American market, this wasn't saying much as very few foreign films were watched. Streaming apps with innovative K-content are changing that.  

Today when consumers watch a Korean satire, a Japanese series about infidelity, a Thai ghost show, or a Taiwanese soap opera on an app, subtitles are generally available in several languages and are of decent-to-excellent quality. Netflix now subtitles all content, but that move came only after pressure from the National Association for the Deaf (NAD). The agreement to subtitle everything by 2014 ended a class action lawsuit the NAD filed in 2010 that cited the Americans with Disabilities Act. Almost at the same time, the FCC set in place new rules for online captioning. The result means the estimated 48 million deaf and hard of hearing people in America are now entitled to subtitles from content providers.

Good subtitling has been a key factor for Korean content, and those who speak Korean have mostly commented favorably on the 'transcreational' aspects of the subtitles. Put simply, a good subtitle translator/writer will seek to recreate - or 'transcreate' - the cultural backstory expressed by a sentence and render it into a way that makes sense to another culture and language. Rather than a United Nations translator who must get word for word as accurately as possible, transcreation involves thinking of how to express the same emotions in a different language. "Squid Game" director Hwang Dong-hyuk votes for subs as he wants you to feel the language as much as understand it. Dubbing isn't going anywhere soon, but more are coming to agree with Hwang that you need to hear the character's actual voices to truly 'see' the acting. These last few years have been dominated by K-content, from the 2020 Oscar-winning film "Parasite" to "Squid Game" and more. And, 2022 is already proving the wave of Korean content popularity has yet to peak. But we're predicting that in the not-distant future, whether you're watching K-content on a smart TV or a smartphone via a Korean drama app, there's a good chance most of us will be consuming it in Korean, watching high-quality 'trans created' subtitles.