Key Takeaways
- A researcher requested a Korean→English translation of a 13‑page technical paper and specified she wanted one complete English document with the existing English preserved, which set the scope and the 3,200‑word count (Korean only).
- The written quote was issued the same day (delivery 6–7 business days from payment); the client obtained institutional approval in about a week, paid, and the translation was delivered three days early with a certification document.
- While an editable source file makes it easier to carry over existing English text, a flat PDF was acceptable—the team extracted/retyped the English and integrated the Korean translation into one file.
- You must decide at the quote stage whether you want only the non‑English content translated or a full English paper with existing English retained, because this affects word count, schedule, and the delivered file format.
- Practical guidance: get a quote early for budget approvals, name your true deadline, indicate if approval is pending, know delivery windows start at payment, and request a certified translation if required by journals or institutions.
In late November a researcher opened our live chat looking for a quote on a technical paper, Korean into English, for academic research. The paper ran to thirteen pages and contained both Korean and English. Before quoting, our consultant asked a question that decided how the whole job would be done: did she want only the Korean parts translated, or one complete English paper with the existing English kept in place? Her answer was the second. A week later her team approved the budget and she paid, and the finished document arrived three days before the promised time. Her reply was short: “I left a review, thanks!”
The Situation
The first message arrived on live chat on a Monday afternoon: a quote request for eleven pages of a technical paper, Korean to English, the researcher’s first contact with us. Asked what it was for, she answered plainly: academic purposes, for research. Explore our scientific translation services for details.
Our consultant sent a secure upload link and the file arrived within minutes. Intake logged it as thirteen pages, rated the quality good, and recorded a detail that mattered later: the approximate count of 3,200 words covered the Korean only, because the document contained both Korean and English. A paper on fire and explosion hazards in converting waste plastic into pyrolysis oil sits squarely in scientific translation, where the terminology has to be right before the prose can be.
How We Handled It
The question asked before the quote
Our consultant asked two practical things: when she needed it, and whether the cost would need internal approval. She needed it by the end of the year, and yes, her team would have to approve.
Then came the question that shaped the work. Did she need only the Korean content translated, or a complete English paper, with the existing English retained in the translated file? Her answer was immediate: the complete English paper. That exchange settled the scope, the word count and what the finished file would look like.
A quote the same afternoon, then a week of waiting
The written quote went out about ten minutes after the chat ended, with a delivery window of six to seven business days once payment was made. She replied within the hour to say she would check with her team and come back, probably after the Thanksgiving holiday. Our consultant answered that we would wait and follow up if it took longer. A week later the message came: approval obtained, payment submitted.
Only a PDF, and that was fine
Our team asked whether she had an editable version of the file, since that would ease the work with the English portions: text already in English is simple to reuse when it can be copied, slower when it must be rebuilt from a flat page.
Her answer was that the PDF she had shared was the only version she had. Our reply was one line: not a problem. The team worked from the PDF, translating the Korean and carrying the existing English through into one document.
Delivered three days early
The payment confirmation promised delivery by 5:00 PM Eastern on the Wednesday. The finished translation went out on the Sunday afternoon before, three days inside the window and well ahead of the end-of-year deadline. It arrived as two attachments: the translated paper and the accompanying certification document.
The Result
One complete English version of a thirteen-page technical paper, translated by a human translator, with the original English preserved and the Korean rendered around it. Days later she replied to our follow-up: “I left a review, thanks!”
What “A Complete English Paper” Actually Means
Plenty of academic papers are bilingual. A Korean journal article may carry an English abstract, English figure captions, references and engineering terms while the body text is Korean. That leaves you a choice worth making deliberately:
- Translate the Korean only, and receive just those passages in English
- Deliver one complete English document, with the existing English kept as published
The second is what most researchers want, because it produces a paper they can read end to end and cite from. It also means the new English has to sit consistently beside the author’s existing English: same terms, same units, same conventions for figures and references.
Say which you want at the quote stage. It changes the word count, the schedule and the shape of the delivered file, as it did here, and the question comes up constantly in our translation for universities work.
Why an Editable File Helps, and What to Do Without One
When a document already contains English that should survive into the translation, an editable file lets that text be carried across directly. A flat PDF does not, so the existing English has to be extracted or retyped and then checked against the original.
If you have any of these, send them:
- The original word processor or typesetting file
- A publisher’s version that allows text selection and copying
- A text-layer PDF rather than a scan of a printed page
If you only have a scan or a locked PDF, say so and the work goes ahead anyway, as it did here. Where the layout has to be rebuilt, PDF to Word conversion is a separate service that can be added first.
Planning a Translation Around a Deadline and an Approval
Research budgets rarely move at the speed of research. When a translation needs a signature from a department or a finance office, the calendar has two clocks: how long the work takes, and how long the approval takes.
A few things keep both on track:
- Get the quote early, even if you cannot pay yet, so the approval request has a real number attached
- Name your true deadline at first contact rather than the date you hope for
- Say that approval is pending, so nobody follows up as though you have gone quiet
- Ask what the turnaround is measured from, since delivery windows usually start at payment
Here the quote went out the same day, the approval took about a week, and the delivery window began only when payment arrived. That sequencing is normal, and planning for it is the difference between comfortable and frantic.
Academic and Technical Translation in New York
New York’s universities, hospitals, research institutes and engineering firms generate a steady stream of documents that arrive in one language and must be read in another: journal articles, standards, lab protocols and safety documentation. Researchers order the way this one did, by chat and email.
Our office is at 224 W 35th St #1200-8, New York, NY 10001, on the 12th floor between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, a short walk from Penn Station and Herald Square on the 1, 2, 3, A, C and E or the B, D, F, M, N, Q, R and W lines. Learn more about our Korean translation services in New York, or read how a Mexican diploma was translated and apostilled for a New York application.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you translate a technical or scientific paper from Korean into English?
Yes. Our human translators handle journal articles, conference papers, standards and lab reports, matched to a translator comfortable with the subject. In this story the paper covered fire and explosion hazards in a waste-plastic conversion process, and the new English had to sit alongside the English already in the document.
My paper is partly in English already. Do I pay to translate that part again?
No. Word counts are normally taken on the content that needs translating, which is why the count recorded here covered the Korean portion only. Tell us at the quote stage whether you want the existing English retained, because that changes the scope and the shape of what you receive.
Do you need an editable file, or is a PDF enough?
A PDF is enough. An editable file helps when a document already contains text that should carry across unchanged, which is why we ask. In this story the researcher had only the PDF, our team confirmed that was not a problem, and the delivery date did not change.
How long does a paper of this length take?
It depends on the word count, the subject and the formatting. This thirteen-page paper was quoted with a six to seven business day window beginning at payment, and was delivered three days ahead of the promised time. Name a fixed deadline at first contact so the schedule is confirmed before you pay.
What if my budget has to be approved first?
That is common with research and institutional work, and it costs nothing to get the quote first. Ask for the estimate early, tell us the approval is pending, and we will wait rather than chase. Delivery windows normally start at payment, so a week of approval moves delivery by about a week.
Will I get a certificate with an academic translation?
You can. A certified translation includes a signed certificate of translation stating that the work is complete and accurate and that the translator is competent in both languages. Journals, funders and universities differ on whether they want one, so check before ordering.
Have a Paper That Needs Translating?
Send the file, name your deadline, and say whether you want the existing English kept in the finished document. If a budget approval is in the way, ask for the quote now and pay when ready. Get a free quote or call 1-800-230-7918. Vanan Services has served customers since 2009 and is rated 4.9 stars from 970+ Google reviews.
This story is based on a real Vanan Services order. Names, dates and other identifying details have been removed to protect our customer’s privacy.
