ANSWER: like 1905
The Korean adjective 을씨년스럽다 can mean "desolate," "shabby," or "wretched," but it literally means "like 1905," which was a depressingly sad year for many Koreans because it was the year Korea gave up its diplomatic sovereignty when it signed the "Eulsa (을사) Treaty" with Japan.
The 을씨년 in 을씨년스럽다 comes from 을사년 (乙巳年), which literally means "the Eulsa (乙巳) year (年)," and since the suffix -스럽다 means "like," 을사년스럽다 literally means "like the 'eulsa' (을사) year (년)."
Koreans used to use a 60-year calendar to refer to dates, based on the sexagenary cycle, and 1905 just happened to be the "Eulsa" (을사) year, which was the 42nd year in that 60-year calendar.
So, in the past, when Koreans were feeling sad or depressed about things happening around them, some of them apparently started using 을사년스럽다 to express their feelings. It was kind of like saying, "Wow! It seems like 1905 all over again." That would suggest that the expression did not exist before 1905. Then over time, 을사년스럽다 changed to 을씨년스럽다.
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| From "Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary" (1998) |
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