Korean researcher Karima Kim to Al Bayan:

Dr. Kim Jong, known as Karima Kim, a Korean researcher, received the Ibn Khaldun Award for Humanities in 2025 in recognition of her translation of “The Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldun” from Arabic to Korean. She spoke to Al Bayan on the occasion of the International Translation Day, September 30, affirming that she views translation as a bridge connecting civilizations and historical experiences. Through translation, we can explore others’ worlds and reshape this understanding in our own language, making translation an essential means to share our common human heritage.

Kim explained that her beginnings with Arabic started in high school, deeply influenced by the book “The Prophet” by Khalil Gibran, which motivated her interest in Arabic literature. She then pursued university studies in Arabic and specialized in Arabic literature at the graduate level.

Regarding her receipt of the Ibn Khaldun Award for Humanities 2025, Kim said: “This award is not only a personal honor but also recognition of my efforts to build a bridge between Korea and the Arab world. I see this appreciation as shared with the academic community in Korea and everyone working for intercultural dialogue.”

She pointed out that she chose to translate Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddimah into Korean because she sees it not as an ordinary historical book but as an intellectual work studying the laws of society and civilization.

She added: “I first encountered it during my PhD studies, and since then I wanted to present it to Korean readers. The distance between Korea and the Arab world is great, along with a gap in knowledge about Arab-Islamic civilization, so I wanted to help reduce this gap.”

Kim continued: “The importance of translating the Muqaddimah is not limited to the academic side; many researchers see Ibn Khaldun as having made history an independent science, and the concept of ‘asabiyyah’ he introduced has become a fundamental term in sociology. I believe Korean readers can gain a new perspective on the rise and fall of civilizations from this book, find inspiration to think about Korean society’s challenges, and it is also an opportunity to introduce Koreans to Arab-Islamic civilization, which sometimes reaches them in fragmented or distorted forms.”

She spoke about the difficulties she faced during the translation, including the book’s large size, numerous historical events, and many names. To overcome these, she relied on explanations and academic studies and translated the text as accurately as possible.

She also emphasized her keenness to introduce this book to Korean society because she believes Ibn Khaldun’s ideas provide intellectual tools to understand civilizations’ cycles and societal changes. She added: “I hoped Koreans would read this book to discover the wisdom of Arab-Islamic civilization and use it as a mirror to reflect on their reality. I also wanted to highlight the true greatness of this civilization to Korean readers.”

She explained that she does not consider translation merely a linguistic transfer but a bridge connecting civilizations and historical experiences. Through it, we can explore others’ worlds and reshape this understanding in our language, making translation an essential means to share common human heritage.

She said: “I believe translation makes the world deeper and more understood. My message is: ‘Translation is a bridge, and through this bridge, we can walk into others’ worlds.'”