[Korean Culture & Language] 눈에서 멀어지면 마음도 멀어진다, 고생 끝에 낙이 온다




Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers!



Because of COVID-19, it has become harder for families, friends, and loved ones to stick together. To what extent do you agree with the idiom, ‘Out of sight, out of mind’?

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It’s sad how true it can be. It has become more difficult for families to gather, and for long-distance couples to meet.

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The same idiom is said in Korean: 눈에서 멀어지면, 마음도 멀어진다.


눈 means ‘eyes,’

멀어지면 means ‘if become distant,’

마음에서도 means ‘from the heart as well,’

and 멀어진다 means ‘become distant’.

It is interesting how this could be a universal thing.



Thankfully, every cloud has a silver lining.


There are various video conference tools that can still connect us together. And even though the pandemic has had negative effects on many businesses, other businesses such as technology firms and online shopping malls have benefited. Some economists even believe that this pandemic could bring a positive social reform like back in 1854 with the cholera epidemic. Women gained more financial independence as a result of it.


12 Quotes to Help You Find the Silver Lining in Every Cloud | The Health Sessions


There’s no Korean word for ‘silver lining,’ but there is an idiom that can be used in a similar situation: 고생 끝에 낙이 온다.


고생 means ‘suffering’ or ‘hardship,’

끝에 means ‘the end of,’

“낙” means ‘happiness,’

and 온다 means ‘comes’.


So it means “There’s always joy at the end of a suffering’. You can use this phrase to cheer someone up by saying that it will be better soon.


Hopefully this pandemic will subside and the ‘낙’ comes soon.

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