This article gives an overview of the relationships between the establishment of translation policy and literary/cultural shifts during the first two decades of the twentieth century in Korea. During the Kae Hwa (‘Enlightenment’) period, 1895-1910, translations were undertaken primarily for didactic purposes. Next followed a period when foreign texts were imported with the aim of developing modern Korean literature. The concept of ‘translational norms’, as proposed by Toury, is used to explain the changing practices of individual translators as well as the general evolution of translation within the Korean literature.