What does 대담 (大膽) literally mean?

 ANSWER: big (大) gallbladder (膽)

My Korean-English dictionary defines 대담 (大膽) as "bold," "daring," or "intrepid," but it literally means "big (大) gallbladder (膽)." And it defines 담력 (膽力) as "courage," "pluck," or "nerve," but 담력 literally means "gallbladder (膽) strength or energy (力)."

The pure Korean word for gallbladder is 쓸개, and since the word 빠지다 can mean "be omitted" or "be missing," the phrase 쓸개(가) 빠진 놈 literally means "a man without a gallbladder," which can translate into English as "a man with no backbone" or "a man with no courage."

I find it kind of interesting that Koreans describe a man as being "bold," "daring," or "intrepid" by saying he has a "big gallbladder (대담 大膽)," while in the United States we often describe such a man as having "big balls" or "big cajones," which means "big testicles."

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary