[Korean Culture & Language] At the end of suffering comes suffering

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The Korean idiom, ‘고생 끝에 낙이 온다,’ is directly translated to ‘At the end of hardship/suffering comes happiness/pleasure/enjoyment’. It is similar to the Western proverb, ‘after every storm comes a rainbow’. It suggests that things will get better even after the roughest times. 


‘고생’ means ‘suffering’
’끝’ means ‘the end’
’낙’ means ‘happiness’
’온다’ means ‘to come’


However, younger Koreans don’t seem to agree with this old idiom. They are now saying ‘고생 끝에 골병난다.’


‘골병’ refers to ‘an illness that is hard to cure.’ 


In Korea, younger generations do not typically place the same significance on ‘enduring suffering’ as  older generations do. 


Even though they use this ‘new idiom’ jokingly, it might actually be more accurate than the old idiom, because many studies have found that chronic stress can even shorten one’s lifespan.


Another idiom ‘티끌 모아 태산,’ is directly translated to ‘One can gather dust to make a Mount Tai’. It means 'many a little makes a mickle.’


‘티끌’ means ‘dust’

‘모으다’ means ‘to gather’

‘태산’ refers to ‘Mount Tai,’ the highest point in Shandong province, China. Its tallest peak is estimated to be 15,45 meters high. 


However, Younger generations have changed the idiom to ‘티끌 모아 티끌 (Collecting dust will simply produce more dust.)’ Because of rapidly increasing property prices recently, many feel that working hard doesn’t help save money.


Which idioms do you relate to more?

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