Deborah Smith (translator)

Deborah Smith FRSL (born 15 December 1987) is a British translator of Korean fiction.

[4][5] In 2015, Smith founded Tilted Axis Press, a non-profit publishing house devoted to books that "might not otherwise make it into English.

[7] In June 2018 Smith was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in its "40 Under 40" initiative.

In an article published in 2017, writer and academic Charse Yun (이화여대 교수) reported on criticisms in the Korean media of the English translation of The Vegetarian because of its omissions, embellishments, and mistranslations.

While Yun calls the translation "a stunning achievement," he acknowledges that for some readers who are familiar with the original "the translation has deviated so far ... that the disparity strains their eyes and ruins their enjoyment.