[Korean Culture & Language] Never judge a book by its cover

Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers!


Photo by Sam Moqadam on Unsplash

Plastic surgeries are really popular in Korea. 

According to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, South Korea is the fifth-largest plastic surgery market in the world, with over 2,500 plastic surgeons in 2019. 

Physical appearance is really important in Korea that many Koreans even believe that beauty is crucial to success. Even surveys have shown that good-looking people generally get higher wages and better evaluations. A standard form of Korean resume requires candidate’s picture on the left top for a candidate’s picture. There was even a well-known rumor that employers don’t even read the candidate’s resume if they don’t like their picture. 

https://repository.arizona.edu/bitstream/handle/10150/271618/azu_etd_mr_;jsessionid=2C30E984520CB6387A3462FC1776974E?sequence=1


Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash

However, no studies have proven that better-looking people are superior or more trustworthy in any way. Since lookism is a form of discrimination, Korean labor law prohibits employers from collecting information about a candidate’s physical conditions such as height and weight since 2019. 

Like the Western saying “Never judge a book by its cover,” there is a saying in Korea: “빛 좋은 개살구”. 

빛 좋은 means An appetizing 

개살구 means Siberian apricot

Siberian apricots are known to be too sour to be eaten unless it’s made into jam or juice. It is very pretty though, so it is used for landscaping. “빛 좋은 개살구” means “don’t be deceived by appearances”.

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