Subtitles

Watching this movie again yesterday I noticed an interesting subtitle translation. Usually I hate non-literal translations as I feel that they detract from the flavour of the local language, are patronising to the viewer, and involve far too much personal input from the subtitler. In my opinion, direct translations allow us to get an insight into how people in other countires use language, even if it sounds ridiculous.

In this case, however, I think the subtitle is a good one. It comes from a scene at about the 56 minute mark where the main character's gang boss father is having a drink with another gangster, and the son, a drug addict at that point in the movie, sticks his head into the room for a second.

Father's Friend: Isn't he your son? (아드님 아입니까?)

Father: I don't expect anything from him. (저거는 인간 안될 새끼다)

I would translate the reply literally as something like "That bastard won't become human" which although colorful is somewhat awkward, and I think the subtitle fits much better, even though it makes what the father says sound a lot less offensive. He's basically saying that his son is never going to amount to anything in pretty crude language. Also, when Koreans use this phrase, I don't think they use it literally themselves, which defeating the purpose of a literary translation.