In this paper, I explore the peculiar requirements of the translation of Finnegans Wake and its untranslatability. For the discussion of these issues I take examples from Kim Chongkeon`s Korean translation of the text focusing on its first page. An analysis of Kim`s methodology used in his Korean translation reveals his strength as well as weakness, his creativity as well as his limitation. The most original device of Kim`s translation of Finnegans Wake is to invent his own neologism in Chinese characters through which Kim tries to get multiple meanings in a condensed form like Wakean words. Kim`s device is quite witty; however, the problem is that his strategy does not revive the Wakean words play. In other words, the neologism in Chinese characters could be a good device to get multiple meanings within one word, but the dynamic play of the Wakean language is not achieved by the Chinese neologism which is simply loaded with several meanings. Concerning the phonetic quality of Finnegans Wake, the meaning-based Chinese characters do not seem to be quite appropriate to get the musicality of the text such as poetic alliteration, assonance, rhythm, and puns. Especially the materiality (sound-orientation) of the Wakean language which transforms words of the text ceaselessly is difficult to be achieved by Chinese characters. Still, in spite of these problems, Kim`s translation of Finnegans Wake is a tremendous achievement. For Korean lay readers who do not even dare to read Finnegans Wake, Kim`s translation would provide one entrance to the text.