The translation process from the source text to the target text inevitably encounters the problem of untranslatability. This occurs because the semantic fields of one language differ from those of another due to cultural factors. The problem of untranslatability can be addressed through transformation and subjective correspondences, which, according to Lotman's theory, are described as myths. A myth refers to something that signifies illogicality, in contrast to logic. To explain mythicity, the concept of 'proper nouns' is employed. The name of an object is not based on a logical reasoning or justification, but represents a direct identification, becoming a unique entity in the world. This paper examines the poems of Yun Dong-ju and Lee Sang as case studies to demonstrate how untranslatability is resolved when these poems are translated into other languages. Poetry is a type of text in which untranslatability is maximized, thus highlighting its mythic qualities. Parts of the text that cannot be translated logically due to cultural or contextual factors are reinterpreted by the translator, creating the expression plane. Some parts are translated literally, others are left as they are, like proper nouns, and in cases of extreme cultural differences, translator's notes are added to complete the expression plane. Understanding the situations in which untranslatability arises and how the translator’s interpretation transforms these situations reflects how the culture of the recipient is expressed.

In this study, I analyze the English translation of The Genial Seed, which is an anthology of Japanese medieval planting songs. The English translation was published in 1971 by Frank Hoff(1932-2013) who was a scholar of comparative literature. The characteristic of The Genial Seed is that they are passed down orally. So, it is difficult to understand the meaning of the songs and it is not easy to match the rhythm. Nevertheless, this translation faithfully translates the original text in terms of form and content. Also, reading The Genial Seed through the translation brings diverse possibilities of the interpretation. In this presentation, I will compare and analyze the lyrics of The Genial Seed between the original Japanese and English translation and discuss expansion of interpretability.

Κοσμοπολίτης (cosmopolites) is a compound of the Greek words Κοσμος (Kosmos) and Πολίτης (politēs). Κοσμος is order, property, good behavior, ornament, world-order, world. Πολίτης means citizen, townsman. Thus, Κοσμοπολίτης is explained as “the citizen of the world”, which is widely accepted and applied.The vein of cosmopolitanism from ancient Greece to the Enlightenment has been carried away by reason, global justice, and university, and thus is in a tendency to be rootless from the locality and the individuals. Such an explanation, however, falls into the trap of neglecting its hidden layer of meaning: locality. Man is firstly the citizen of the πολίς and then of the Κοσμος. Namely, the men of the cosmos are always rooted in the city, community, and locality before they are the citizen of the cosmos.

The research of cosmopolitanism rarely lay their emphasis on the late nineteenth and early twentieth century as this period is known as the century of nationalism. The late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century seem to be the age of nationalism, which bewildered the cosmopolitans to ignore this period. While the identity crisis in nihilism forced people to cling to the past and even turn to extreme nationalism, globalization demanded individuals to interact with the external and even international world with cosmopolitanism. The ontological forgetting trend of cosmopolitanism is readjusted by the prevailing nationalism, from floating to rooting. It is a momentous time-space when and where cosmopolitanism is revived and grounded.

The Small-town stories back then embodied this special glocalized or rooted cosmopolotanism.The small-town Bidwell in Sherwood Anderson’s depiction reveals the spirit of rooted cosmopolitanism, which is an open space with people crossing borders through empathy and achieving mutual understandings through conversations. An inclusive, mild, and empathetic air hung in the small-town Bidwell, an open space created in the interaction between the local and the global, the imagination and reality. The all-encompassing spirit in the small-town denotes the three layers of rooted cosmopolitanism: an open space (a small-town in the interaction between local and global, reality and imagination), empathetic (to cross the borders between different people, people and things through empathy), and conversational (to take root at a spiritual home after concrete conversations bond by shared vulnerability). Within the open space of the small-town, Anderson portrays the empathy through which people achieve an outward exploration and the conversation through which individuals practice inward exploration. Intermingling between the local and the global, the reality and the imagination, Bidwell is an open space with a cosmopolitan spirit.