Do rice cakes that look good also taste good


Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers!


There are idioms with which you absolutely agree, and others with which you simply cannot relate. 

The following is a list of Korean idioms that the writer felt were wrong in her opinion:


http://web.humoruniv.com/board/humor/read.html?table=pds&number=982417

The idioms that she felt were wrong:

1) 가는 말이 고와야 오는 말도 곱다 (You will get nice words back if you use nice words)
It means, if you do or say nice things to others, it will come back to you.
2) 윗 물이 맑아야 아랫물도 맑다 (For the downstream waters to be clear, the upstream waters must be clear.) It means that superiors (parents, bosses, seniors, etc) must behave appropriately in order for the subordinates (children, employees, juniors, etc) to behave appropriately
3) 고생 끝에 낙이 온다 (Every cloud has a silver lining)

4) 보기 좋은 떡이 먹기도 좋다 (The rice cake that looks good also tastes good). It means: When you see something that looks good, it likely is of high quality. That is because someone took the time and effort in making it look good. If someone takes their time and effort to make a rice cake look good, it likely is to be tasty. It also means: While it is critical to take care of one’s mind, it is also important to take care of one’s appearance.

5) 백지장도 맞들면 낫다 (Even simply carrying a sheet of paper is better if two people do it together) The closest Western idiom is ‘Two heads are better than one’. When two or more people work together to solve a problem, it is more likely to be solved than when one person works alone.

6) 티끌 모아 태산 (A collection of small dust can become Mount Tai.) Mount Tai is the highest mountain in Shandong province, China. It is almost equivalent to ‘Many a little makes a muckle’.


Many younger people disagree with this idiom and created a new idiom: 티끌모아 티끌 (A collection of small dust is a collection of small dust). The idiom expresses the dissatisfaction of young adults who save money regularly yet do not seem to be on their way to becoming wealthy anytime soon because the amount of money they saved is so insignificant. 

스냅타임] `티끌 모아 티끌` 시대...돈 쓰며 스트레스 푸는 20대

https://www.edaily.co.kr/news/read?newsId=01708886619306336&mediaCodeNo=257

What are your thoughts? To what extent do you agree with these idioms?


댓글

댓글 쓰기

이 블로그의 인기 게시물

[Korean Culture & Language] Switching between the liver and the gallbladder

이미지
Hello, this is Uptempo! “Saving face” has always been a very important part of Korean culture. Most Koreans try hard to “ 체면을 세우다 (build one’s face),” and “ 체면을 지키다 (maintain one’s face),” and not to “ 체면을 잃다 or 체면을 구기다 (lose one’s face).” ‘ 세우다 ’ means ‘to build’ ‘ 지키다 ’ means ‘to keep’ ‘ 잃다 ’ means ‘to lose’ ‘ 구기다 ’ means ‘to crumple’ or ‘to damage’ ‘Saving one’s face’ means ‘to build one’s reputation,’ ‘maintaining’ one’s face’ means ‘to keep one’s reputation,” and ‘losing one’s face’ means ‘to lose or damage one’s reputation.’ However, some people are more concerned about their profit than “saving or maintaining their face.” They “ 간에 붙었다 쓸개에 붙었다 한다. ” ‘ 간 ’ means ‘liver’ ‘ 붙다 ’ means ‘to stick’ ‘ 쓸개 ’ means ‘gallbladder’ It is directly translated to “It sticks to the liver for a second and then moves to the gallbladder to stick to it for another.” It describes the behavior of someone who switches between two opposing teams or groups for completely selfish reasons. The...
자세한 내용 보기

[Korean Culture & Language] Stagnant Water

이미지
Hello, this is Uptempo! Stagnant water, often referred to as ‘standing water,’ provides an ideal breeding ground for biofilms. It is unsafe to drink water that has been left out or pooled in one spot for a long time because it contains bacteria or fungi that may carry various germs. Consuming them can cause waterborne diseases like legionella.   Stagnant water may also corrode metal and damage utility infrastructure. Photo by   Jordan Whitfield   on   Unsplash There is an old idiom in Korea ‘ 고인물은 썩는다 ’. It is translated as ‘ stagnant water will certainly go bad ’. ‘ 고인 ’ means ‘ stagnant ,’ or ‘ pool of’ ‘ 물 ’ means ‘ water’ ‘ 썩는다 ’ means ‘ to spoil’ https://youtu.be/jNWHNL1OWig Today, ‘ 고인물 ’ is used as a slang term to describe someone who has spent a significant amount of time in a particular social group or organization, most commonly an online community . The term originated from a gaming community, and it refers to someone who has spent a lot of time playin...
자세한 내용 보기

[Korean Culture & Language] Squid Game/Red light green light

이미지
Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers! Korean Culture & Language / Squid Game / “Red Light, Green Light”: a somewhat literary critique Translation is not just about delivering the meanings of words; it’s also about delivering the experiences that those words inspire. Therein lies the difference between literal and liberal translation. And “Red Light, Green Light” is a liberal translation of the following phrase: Korean 무궁화 꽃이 피었습니다 sound Mu-gung-hwa kko-chi pi-yeot-seum-ni-da meaning Mugunghwa flower has blossomed Mugunghwa is the national flower of South Korea, and it’s a very pretty flower, but of course it is not well-known outside of Korea. For this reason and others, I presume, the Netflix translator(s) took the liberty to drop the literal meaning of the original phrase while conveying the rules of the game. But I can’t help but feel a little dissatisfied with this translation, because it sacrifices the musical and poetic elements of the game that I love. So in this piece, I will t...
자세한 내용 보기