[Korean Culture & Language] Eating in Korean

Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers!

Koreans like to eat.

We eat insults. When someone insults you verbally, what do you say? “I got insulted”? In Korea, we say “욕 먹었다” which means “I ate an insult.”

We eat even more abstract things, such as good points. When someone stumps you in a conversation with a good point, do you say something like “touché” or “you got me”? Here, we say “한 방 먹었다” which means “I ate a good point.”

So it’s not surprising that we eat wins and losses. When you come first in a race, you can say “1등 먹었다” which means “I ate first place.” And when you’re playing soccer and the other team scores a point, you can say “한 골 먹었다” which means “we ate a goal.”

By the way, to win a game it’s important to pick the right team or choose the right side. Koreans eat those too. When you form a team with someone, you can say “나 저 사람과 편먹었어” which means “I ate a team with that person,” which means “I formed a team with that person.”

I’m afraid that’s not all. I’m afraid of a lot of things. And when I’m afraid, I say “나 겁먹었어” which means “I ate fear,” which means “I’m afraid.” Even when we are feeling fear we’re eating it.

So why wouldn’t we eat knowledge, memories, and even our own minds? When we just can’t understand something, we say “못 알아먹겠다” which means “I can’t understand and eat it.” When we can’t remember something, we say “잊어 먹었다” which means “I forgot and ate it.” And when we firmly decide on something, we say “마음먹었다” which means “I ate my mind,” which means “I made up my mind.”

Koreans are always eating. Always. And I mean that literally, because we eat age. We all get old with time, but Westerners say “I am aging,” whereas Koreans say “나이 먹고 있어” which means “I am eating age.”

And sometimes, when a person gets really old, they go deaf, sadly enough. When that happens, they will be a “귀먹은 사람” which means “a person who ate their ear(s).”