Saturday, November 05, 2005

What tree never lies?

Answer: The black oak

In Korean, the "black oak" is called 참나무. The reason I say the black oak tree never lies is that one meaning for 참 is "truth," so 참나무 could literally be translated as the "truth tree," although I do not know if that is where the name came from. Here is a picture of a 참나무.

In an earlier post, here, I talked about "The Tree Song," which also mentions 참나무. Here is the line from the song:
이놈 대끼놈 대나무 거짓말 못해 참나무
The Bamboo, a little pest,
The Black Oak, unable to lie

I am not sure of the meaning of 대끼놈, but I have seen it used to refer to mischievous children. If anyone knows the exact meaning, I would appreciate it if you would let me know.

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