Is It A Must To Hire A Professional L10n Team for Your Korean Localization Projects?

Your decisions at the beginning of a Korean localization project can determine the success or failure of the whole project. One of the very first things you need to decide is to whether use your current internal resources for this Korean localization project or recruit a new team to be in charge of all the localization activities.

Each option has both advantages and disadvantages. Before you make the final decision on which choice is better, consider these pros and cons carefully.

Option 1 – Use Your Available Internal Resources

For this first option, you can make use of your current internal team (we recommend you choose employees from the Marketing department) to take on this additional responsibility as a localizer or localization manager.

This team will do research, develop a suitable Korean localization strategy and implement it. They will find and work with suitable Korean translation providers. Please note that this team does not necessarily include people who can speak Korean. Because translating is the job of your translation providers, not employees from this team.

However, it would be better if there is someone fluent in the language to review the translated content later. But again, if your team doesn’t have someone who is, you can always hire a freelance reviewer if needed.

Advantages

• • Reduce Costs – Instead of investing a lot of money in hiring and training a new team of Korean localizers, your company can make the most of your current internal resources. You can save a great deal of money on the recruiting and compensation procedure.
  • Product and Service Understanding – Because these individuals have worked for your company for a while, they have insights into the industry and your company’s products/services. They are also familiar with the industry terminologies and understand how to create Korean localized items that are compatible with your company’s present image and brand for the Korean market.

Disadvantages

• • Unguaranteed l10n Knowledge – Because Korean localization is a complex task that the person in charge must have a good background and experience in Korean localization. Unfortunately, not every marketer or marketing manager is capable of meeting these standards. The results of Korean localization efforts are unlikely to be ideal without hands-on experience and insights.
  • Sole Decision Maker – Many small companies have only one person taking charge of both marketing and localization tasks – this individual is frequently referred to as a marketing and localization manager. This individual will make all choices that surely put enormous pressure on them. Meanwhile, you are risking looking at the issues in a less objective and thorough way.

Option 2 – Recruit a Specialised Team for Your Korean Localization Project

Your second choice is to build an entirely new team for your Korean localization project, or at least one person in charge (PIC) specializing in your company’s localization activities. This team/PIC will receive and handle any requests for Korean localization made by other internal departments and roles, such as in-market salespeople, content producers (UI/UX designers, marketing content writers, and so on), and product development department.

Advantages

• • Localization Expertise & Improved Quality – First and foremost, this team/PIC has a thorough grasp of the Korean localization production process, including the working methods and supporting tools/systems (CAT, CMS, TMS, QA, and API). Second, they have an extensive network of native Korean linguists and agencies. After numerous tries and errors, they have determined who they should contact for a request to reduce the likelihood of making the wrong decisions. As a result, your localized items will be of higher overall quality than the first alternative.
  • Save Time — Because activities are managed by Korean l10n specialists, work efficiency improves, lowering your Korean project turnaround time.

Disadvantages

• • Higher Initial Costs – The initial costs of establishing a localization team in your company may be higher than the first option. However, excellent work efficiency will offset this expense in the long term.
  • Lack of Understanding of Your Business – This choice necessitates extra training for your new team or PIC in terms of industry expertise, vocabulary, brand language, and so on.

If you choose to develop a new Korean localization team, you should consider hiring employees who previously worked for a localization agency. The job titles you’re looking for should be as follows:

• • Localization Account Manager
  • Localization Program Manager
  • Localization Project Manager/Coordinator

Another suggestion is to recruit Localization Managers from the buyer side — a company similar to your end client. If this is the case, the titles to look for are:

• • Digital Globalization and Localization Director
  • Consumer Localization Manager
  • Director of Product Globalization
  • Director of Globalization
  • International Operations Manager

Which Option is the Wise Choice for Your Korean Localization Project?

Not all Korean localization projects require you to have a specialized l10n team. To know whether it is necessary to have this team or not, you need to answer the following questions:

• • How often do you need to localize content into Korean?
  • How much is your budget for Korean localization projects?
  • How many source languages do you need to localize into Korean?

Here are some of our suggestions to help you make the decision better:

To Wrap Up

Choosing to use available resources or build a new localization team for your Korean localization is just the first step. You will need to make many more important decisions before and during the localization process to reach your goal. To learn more about what you need to do next, check out our free 38-page whitepaper for detailed instructions on how to build a full localization program for SMEs.

If you are looking for a reliable Korean localization agency that provides high-quality Korean translation services at a budget-saving rate, contact GTE Localize’s team for a free 1:1 consultancy and quotation.