Saturday, April 11, 2020

What does 복방귀 mean?

ANSWER: a fart of good fortune

In his book "입에 익은 우리 익은말" ("Idioms Familiar to Our Mouths"), Professor Kim Jun-yeong (김준영) writes about the phrase 복방귀, which can translate as "a fart of good fortune."
Professor Kim tells the story of a bride who accidently farts while presenting gifts to her new in-laws after her wedding (폐백). The mother-in-law, fearing that her new daughter-in-law might be embarrassed by the incident, tells her that the fart is a sign of good fortune (복방귀). Happy to hear this, the new daughter-in-law brags that she also farted while getting out of the bridal sedan chair (신부가마).
The above story is also mentioned in THIS 2007 Korean-language newspaper article on Professor Kim, who was about 87 years old at the time.
By the way, I have noticed that farting seems to be a fairly common topic of conversation in Korea. In other words, Koreans do not seem to be as embarrassed by the subject as many Americans seem to be. The fact that 복방귀 was mentioned in the linked newspaper article is evidence of this.


The following Korean video also tells a story about 복방귀.

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