[Korean Culture & Language] Stagnant Water


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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’

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 playing and mastering a certain game. The word ‘고인물’ usually has a negative connotation because many people who have been a part of a certain social group for a long time are likely to become a 꼰대, negatively affecting others in the same group, similar to how stagnant water goes bad and affects the entire pool of water it’s in.

To what extent do you agree with the expression?

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