ABSTRACT: This study examines the journey of William Shakespeare’s famous play Hamlet in Mongolia from its first performance in the debut of the Soviet Union in 1979 to its modern performance on the Mongolian stage, as well as the Mongolian translations of Hamlet. The study's objective elucidates the interrelationship of world literature and its adaptation to local culture that is eligible for its target audience. This study explores the Mongolian version of Hamlet, focusing on cultural and linguistic adaptations that reflect the unique socio-historical context of Mongolia. An in-depth analysis of Mergen Khasbaatar’s 2013 translation of Hamlet emphasizes how elements of traditional Mongolian culture, such as nomadic life, Buddhist philosophy, and the language of honor, are incorporated into the original text, preserving the originality of the play and making it accessible to local readers. This study places the translation within a broader theoretical framework, such as Schleiermacher’s externalization and localization, which uses the cultural sensitivity required to express climate, family ties, and social hierarchy. The findings contribute to the field of translation studies by highlighting the role of the cultural context in literary adaptation and offering insights into the transformative potential of translated works also this research will contribute to future research on a profound understanding of the adaptation of Western literature works to Eastern cultures.

Key Words: Hamlet, culture, translation, Mongolia, adaptation

The rise of the digital society has led to the emergence of a new generation—digital natives—who grow up immersed in digital technologies. These individuals engage with analog culture through various digitalized materials, accessing and interacting with archival cultural content via platforms like Google, YouTube, and ChatGPT. Further enriching this experience is virtual reality technology, which enables the immersive recreation of past analog cultures. In this context, retro culture—cultural artifacts from older generations—has found new life in the digital age. Ernest Cline foretells of this phenomenon in his duology, Ready Player One (2011) and Ready Player Two (2018). In the novels, OASIS (Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation) serves as a digital version of Foucault’s heterotopia: it is a virtual public space which facilitates communication and socialization between digital natives. Essentially, the virtual reality of OASIS, in conjunction with our omnipresent Internet, promotes the rapid dissemination of retro culture. Ready Player One’s protagonist and allies become masters of 1980s culture, eventually attaining their fame as winners of the novel’s Easter egg hunt. During the process, they experience and learn a respectful sensitivity for the importance of retro culture. Ultimately, the novel illustrates that retro culture can be a bridge to bond two disparate cultures – the analog and digital generations. In essence, retro culture’s popularity in the digital generation can be a form of cultural translation, aiding the development of digital technology. These phenomena provide a positive effect for reducing generational gaps by promoting cultural sharing and empathy.

This study examines how contemporary Korean diasporic literature uses sound and rhythm to reflect cultural identity and navigate hybrid linguistic spaces, viewed through Guy Deutscher’s linguistic relativity framework. Analyzing Bora Chung’s Cursed Bunny (2021) and Frances Cha’s If I Had Your Face (2020), I argue that their innovative use of auditory elements not only mirrors the authors’ international experiences but also shapes readers’ cognitive engagement with the texts.

Chung’s tales blend Korean onomatopoeia with surreal imagery, creating a soundscape that transcends linguistic barriers. In “The Head,” visceral auditory descriptions evoke horror while demonstrating how language influences sensory perception. Conversely, Cha’s collection of short stories integrates Korean terms within English text, crafting a multilingual rhythm that reflects complex cultural identities. Her use of “oppa” and “unni” reconstructs social hierarchies that resist direct translation, illustrating how language shapes social cognition.

This analysis reveals that these authors construct new linguistic landscapes challenging monolingual paradigms. By manipulating sound and rhythm, they create a “third space” of cultural expression that defies traditional categorizations of Korean or Western literature. This research extends Deutscher’s work by showing how multilingual texts can create unique cognitive effects, offering new perspectives on the relationship between language, thought process, and cultural identity in an increasingly globalized literary landscape.

Speaking anxiety remains a prominent barrier for Uzbek EFL students where the pressure to perform often outweighs the opportunity to learn. Many students experience fear of judgment, fear of making mistakes, and the discomfort of speaking in an unfamiliar language, which negatively impacts their fluency and confidence. Traditional classroom approaches, which often prioritize grammar and rote memorization over communication, can exacerbate these anxieties.

This presentation explores the integration of popular culture as an innovative and effective strategy to address speaking anxiety among Uzbek EFL students. Popular culture, with its universally appealing mediums such as music, movies, TV shows, and digital media trends, provides engaging and familiar content that can make speaking activities less intimidating. Incorporating role-plays inspired by popular films, analyzing song lyrics for discussion, and encouraging students to present on trending topics can foster a relaxed and motivating classroom atmosphere.

By bridging the gap between students’ personal interests and the curriculum, I believe, teachers can create a supportive environment where learners feel empowered to express themselves. This presentation will offer a practical framework for incorporating popular culture into EFL lessons, backed by recent studies and classroom applications. Additionally, this approach leverages the emotional connection students have with popular culture to make language learning more relatable and meaningful. Ultimately, this approach not only alleviates anxiety but also enriches the language learning experience, preparing students for real-world communication challenges.

This paper examines the portrayal of Southeast Asia in the Korean drama imaginary, identifying trends, concerns, as well as critiquing the purported relationship between South Korea as the centre of production of popular culture, and Southeast Asia as its passive market. Recent studies have highlighted the controversial portrayals of Southeast Asia in Korean dramas, particularly noting the prevalent stereotyping of the foreign. While arguably only issues necessitating improved cultural sensitivity, these problematic portrayals have led to criticisms from both scholarly and mainstream audiences. This can in turn jeopardise the reception of Korean popular culture in Southeast Asia, considering Southeast Asia’s position as one of its primary market. This paper thus proposes a review of the portrayals of Southeast Asia in the Korean drama imaginary, by looking at Korean dramas such as Princess Hours (2006), Racket Boys (2021) and Little Women (2022). By using the framework of geographic imaginaries, this paper identifies trends in Korean dramas such as filming in foreign locations with the aim of accuracy in representation, using foreign locations as substitutes for locations inaccessible due to issues with production or political reasons, and imagining foreign locations through filming locally or through the use of computer-generated imagery (CGI). These findings will be used as a starting point in critiquing the linkage between Southeast Asia and Korean popular culture, examining the position of Southeast Asia as purportedly passive consumers, the imbalance of leisure mobility between South Korea and the Southeast Asian region, as well as the complex issue of the discriminated Southeast Asia, by looking at prejudice against migration marriages, mixed-race marriages, and Southeast Asian foreign workers in South Korea. Ultimately, this paper contributes to further considerations of the Korean Wave phenomenon in Southeast Asia, particularly considering Southeast Asia’s importance in enabling the contemporary revitalisation of the concept of Asian Cool.