Meet MeeJine a master of effective communication — Interpreter at Coupang

Coupang has global office locations across 13 cities outside of Korea, including Seattle, Shanghai, and Taipei. To eliminate language barriers for Coupang’s top talent, we run a large interpretation/translation organization in the country, employing over 150 full-time regular employees. Our diverse training programs built by Coupang, and the interpretation/translation organization, help new hires, even those without prior background on Coupang’s business, develop field-specific knowledge and expertise.   

Today we met with MeeJine from ECIT (eCommerce Interpreters & Translators) team who joined Coupang after more than ten years working as a freelance interpreter/translator.   

Hi, MeeJine. Can you briefly tell us about yourself?   

My name is MeeJine, and I’ve been working as an in-house interpreter/translator at Coupang’s ECIT (eCommerce Interpreters & Translators) team since 2023, after freelancing for more than 10 years. At Coupang, we have teams that manage and run the overall process to operate the eCommerce business, spanning from product target selection, sourcing, inbound/outbound to inventory management, so that customers can easily find and shop items on Coupang. I support interpretation for these teams at category-specific promotion/sales meetings and various business project meetings.   

You have a long career as a freelance interpreter/translator. What motivated you to freelance?   

I started partly because I wanted to and partly because I had to. I started graduate school later than other students. When I graduated, there were few companies like Coupang recruiting new hires regardless of age, so it wasn’t easy to start my career as an in-house interpreter/translator. My professor suggested that I build up my career by freelancing, which I did.   

Naturally I didn’t start out with big projects or simultaneous interpretation meetings. I was given translation work of only one or two pages. I told myself that I would focus on building my resume through these assignments one by one.   

As a freelancer, it’s important to quickly respond to communication from clients or the school job center. I recall one day when I received a client request while grocery shopping. I quickly shoved my grocery bags aside to respond to the client.   

What inspired you to join Coupang as an in-house interpreter/translator after years of freelancing?   

A friend whom I went to graduate school with and worked at Coupang advised me to apply. She described how dynamic the work was and what environments were provided to interpreters/translators.   

It wasn’t an easy decision to make because I personally had a lot of things to deal with at that time, but I believed there would be a compelling reason for the recommendation so confidently made by someone working for the company. “If you do nothing, nothing happens,” is a saying that I frequently tell my children. I thought I should live up to what I say.  

What was Coupang as a workplace like to you?   

What blew me away the most was seeing everyone, regardless of their rank, encouraged to share their ideas, deep dive together to come up with solutions, and work in a vibrant and empowering work environment. As an interpreter/translator, I’m always impressed by watching business teams work. They really dive into their work enthusiastically, which affects me in a positive way. My family and friends notice the impact, they often remark about how upbeat I am when working.   

What’s the difference between working as a freelancer and in-house as an interpreter/translator?   

Working as a freelancer, I mostly worked on a project basis, so naturally my work was confined to topics that I’m requested to support. As an in-house interpreter/translator, however, you are expected to support meetings on a more diverse range of topics and formats, and thus need an overall understanding of the company’s business to provide better interpretation. That motivates me to study more on topics, learn and grow.   

In some respects, however, there are similarities. There are systems or operating principles that you are expected to follow working in-house, of course. However, interpreters/translators at Coupang, just like freelancers, are expected to take the initiative and adapt to rapidly changing work environments. That’s because we work at the forefront of commerce where the competition is more intense than any other industry.   

I believe my experience working in this field and framework would be a huge asset to me if I decide to work again as a freelancer one day.   

What are your career goals?    

There are many exceptional leaders at Coupang. I want to be a great follower. The framework and systems that were built by my colleagues still amazes me and has me thinking “how did they come up with this?”. I want to help smooth junior interpreters/translators’ transition to Coupang so that these systems continue to thrive. I would also like to contribute by adding ideas to try out new things and implement changes.   

I also invest time and effort to be well-prepared for meetings and have a better understanding of our users. I would like to set a good example for juniors by inspiring them to think and come up with ways to provide better interpretation.   

Any other comments?   

Coupang is almost like a professional training school for interpreters/translators, and I believe the people who were trained and achieved growth in this environment are truly outstanding and should be proud of themselves. Those that have joined Coupang before me have done a fantastic job, and I would like to help build on the legacy by supporting new hires to advance their career at Coupang.   

On a further note, I believe that the level of maturity as well as the ever-evolving interpretation/translation work system at Coupang is achieved not only by the efforts and passion of interpreters/translators but also by the encouragement of the business teams we support. I hope to contribute and pay back the unwavering, company-wide support through top-quality interpretation/translation services.   

We look forward to many future colleagues seeking to pioneer your own growth opportunities as interpreters/translators at Coupang.