What does 가랑이가 찢어지게 가난하다 mean?

ANSWER: to be extremely poor

When I first read the Korean proverb 가랑이가 찢어지게 가난하다, which means to be extremely poor, I was confused because it literally translates as "to be so poor that one's crotch splits." I wondered how being poor could cause one's crotch to split.

But the concept of "crotch-splitting" (가랑이 찢어지는 것) started to make a little more sense to me after reading another Korean proverb (뱁새가 황새를 따라가면 다리가 찢어진다) about how a short-legged bird called a Korean crow-tit (뱁새) would split its "legs," or crotch, if it tried to follow in the footsteps of a long-legged stork (황새). In other words, if a crow tit tried to live beyond its means, it would split its crotch, or become poor. Anyway, I think that is what it means.

Then there is the Korean proverb 가랑잎이 솔잎더러 바스락거린다고 한다. The proverb is the Korean equivalent of "The pot calls the kettle black," but it literally translates as "The dried [oak] leaf says to the pine needle, 'You are making rustling noises.'" In other words, the dried oak leaf complains about the rustling noise of the pine needle even though the dried oak leaf makes a much louder rustling noise.

So, my question is this: What do "crotches" (가랑이) have to do with "dried leaves" (가랑잎)?

My dictionary says that 가랑잎 means the same thing as 갈잎, and since 갈 is an abbreviated form of 가을, which means "autumn," 갈잎 literally means "autumn leaves." So wouldn't that suggest that 가랑 also means "autumn," though such a definition is not in my dictionary?

Anyway, another popular Korean proverb is 가랑비에 옷 젖는 줄 모른다, which literally translates as, "In a drizzle, one does not know one's clothes are getting wet." So, 가랑비 means "a light rain" or "drizzle," not "crotch rain" or "autumn rain." That suggests that the 가랑 in 가랑비 is somehow related to 가늘다, which can mean "thin," "small," or "delicate."

And now I have one final question: What is smaller than a louse (이), the plural of which is "lice"?

ANSWER: a baby louse (가랑니)

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary (1998)